Stray
by Scooterly
Summary: Brielle August is tired of being tossed from foster home to foster home . . . but when she is kidnapped and then found by the Cullens, will that change? There's something different about her, she just doesn't know what that is quite yet . . .
1. Chapter 1 Cold

_Note: Brielle August is my character. Everyone and everything else Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Tis a work of fiction, but of course, you all knew that!_

**One**

_**Cold**_

_God, what happened? Am I alright? Why is it so cold? I can't feel my legs . . . _

_The car . . . the car wrecked . . .Oh my God . . . I can't be dead, can I? Is this what dead feels like? But I'm so cold . . ._

_This can't be Heaven. . ._

_I believe in God . . ._

_I know I do._

I couldn't say I knew exactly what I was thinking. My head hurt, my arms and legs were both numb, and I was absolutely freezing. Something bad had happened . . . something really bad. I tried to slow down my heart beat, but it felt as though it were still in my throat. Something else in the back of my mind was struggling to get out . . . whatever it was made me miserable, I knew that much.

If I could just open my eyes . . .

I felt my fingers grip the frozen earth beneath me, which made a painful vibration spread up my arm and through my neck. I heard myself moan and soon, I was blinded my whiteness, at least, through one eye. Either I could not open the other or something had happened to it.

_Pull it, together Brie,_ I told myself. I doubted I could walk, but I had to hope that someone would find me.

It was hard to keep from going into a full out panic.

Soon the white light above me faded into a dull, wintry gray and I could make out the tangle of tree limbs and green branches above me. My head swam when I tried to focus to hard though, so I closed my eye and focused on my breathing.

_One . . . two . . .In . . . out . . ._

I must have dozed off a couple times to the dark recesses of my mind but I had not sense of time or how long I had been asleep. But when I woke up again, I knew I couldn't have been out here long; the cold would have claimed me. Not that I really felt it anymore . . . My thoughts were slow, but clearer than before and I could feel a definite pain in my back that stretched down to my legs. Something subconsciously told me not to move, that it might make things worse.

The wind picked up and I heard myself moan again.

Not knowing what else to do, I tried thinking about what happened before the wreck. Why had the car wrecked? Had I been with my parents or with friends or . . .? My brain suddenly came to a bone chilling halt.

_My parents . . .my parents were murdered._

It was all I could think about for a time but I couldn't cry. I could just lay there, numb, trying to collect the rest of what had happened. I had been bound up in the backseat of the car . . . someone else was driving . . . No, there had been two people.

_My parents . . ._

I was conscience now of the stinging sensation around my wrists and the feeling of something thick and cloth like in my mouth. Whatever it was, it was making my jaw hurt. Resisting the red flags in my head, I squirmed a little and cringed when my shoulder flared with pain. With a sigh, I rested again in silence and kept praying in my head that someone would come.

My prayers were answered a long time later.

I say a long time because I had dozed again and when I woke up, my face and hands were hurting from the cold and though I couldn't see them, I had a feeling they were turning color. But there was something else, something promising.

The feeling of breath on my cheek.

Slowly, my one eye opened, and I cringed at the bright, lingering whiteness. Something warm stepped over me and felt as though a dog were sniffing my face. The image was blurry at first, but there was definitely something in my face. I couldn't raise my hands like I wanted to, to try and touch the face, and when my vision came into better focus, it took all my will not go into panic mode again. It was probably a good thing I was so cold and tired right then, because I was 99% sure that I was looking into the massive face of a big wolf. I blinked at it, and it blinked at me and then it opened its massive maw and began to pant heavily into my face . . . was it . . . _smiling?_

I moaned again and the big beast shifted off of me, only to be followed by another. This one was brown and seemed sterner than the other, studying me closely and then sniffing my neck. With a grunt it looked at the other wolf and the two kept eye contact for a very long time, with the occasional grunt or whine. The first one looked at me a lot with bright, chocolate eyes, with what I could only associate with sympathy.

If I wasn't the one experiencing this, I would have thought it just some delusional story. But then, perhaps it still was . . .

Meanwhile, despite wondering what the two giant beasts were doing just staring at each other, I started to become more aware of the fact that my sides were warming up and I was regaining feeling in my arms, despite the fact that it was very painful. The two beasts were practically radiating heat. It was . . . beyond my currant state of mind.

Needless to say, I started to drift again . . . and then I heard voices.

"_There they are . . . I could smell them from a mile away! I told you!"_

"_But there's something else . . ."_

The only thing my mind could force through this clouding fog was; were the wolves _talking?_

"Don't try and get out of it . . . a bet's a bet so – oh . . ."

The voice was very clear in my head now, even though I couldn't think of a logical response. I strained to look around with my one eye, blurry as it was, and jumped when a sudden face appeared in my vision.

"Are you still with us?" asked the large male; his skin was pale, his eyes a bright amber and his hair dark. His smile turned his strong face into mischievous grin. "Guess so . . ."

"You frightened her." Said a softer male voice, though his view was out of range from me. "Probably not exactly helpful right now."

The big brown wolf pricked his ears towards that voice and seemed to nod in agreement. I didn't know what it was about the unknown person's voice, but it brought lingering, inner warmth to me . . . like that surge of hope you get when your least favorite teacher hands you a high grade paper. Even better than that. I tried to wiggle my fingers . . . but to no avail. Pain merely spread up through my arm and I moaned again. I cringed as my jaw tingled . . .

"We need to get her help." Said the soft voice again. I heard footsteps and this time saw another face in the small space that was my view. He had a stricken look to him, his eyes were bright and his hair a nice gold. Something told me instantly that I liked him better than the first.

"I vote we call Carlisle." Said a different voice. I didn't recognize this one; it seemed younger, but it was strong still, and had a demanding tone to it.

Funny, I hadn't heard anyone else arrive.

"This isn't exactly a democracy, wolf." Spoke the dark haired boy . . . man . . . whatever he was.

"We found her!"

"Down Seth."

"Sorry Jake . . ."

There were _two? _Where were these people _coming_ from? Speaking of which, where did the wolves scamper off too and when? Were there even ever wolves at all?

"No," said the calm voice again. "Jacob's right. Think about it; we are far from town for starters and second . . . Can't you smell it, Emmett? She's . . . _different . ._ ."

_Yeah,_ I'd like to tell them. _I get that a lot._

The big one, must have been Emmett, leaned down and sniffed along my jaw line. Had I not felt half dead and been bound and gagged I probably would have either slapped him or made a startling, unladylike sarcastic comment, but, as it was . . .

"It's faint," he said, his expression changing dramatically. "But its there. Whatever _it_ is."

Whatever the hell that meant.

"Alright, let's get her back before she gets any colder. She's still mortal." Said Emmett. "Go on and call Carlisle, Jazz, I'm going to look around a bit more. This wreck is a mess . . . reminds me of a rampaging werewolf."

"Ha ha . . ." came a sarcastic reply from somewhere behind me.

Great, I was dealing with a bunch of Dungeons and Dragons nerds and they were calling up one of their buddies. Couldn't they just dial 911 like normal people?

"I called my father," it took me a long time before I realized the one called Jazz was speaking to me. As long he remained in my line of sight, I felt remarkably better. "Don't worry. You'll be safe with us – if it makes you feel better, he is a doctor."

_His father? _

I felt so much more comfortable now, I could tell I was starting to drift again, but this time it wasn't from the cold or the helplessness. I trusted this strange individual and that alone was enough to let me fall into that dangerous slumber . . . the kind of warm unconsciousness that so many never woke out of.

"It's okay." He said again, touching a trembling hand to my cheek. He must have been cold too. "Go ahead and sleep. You are safe now."

I didn't contemplate anything else. I closed my eye and those were the last words I heard for a long while.

* * *

_I was in a house . . . it felt like mine, only I had never seen it before. The man and woman before me seemed familiar, like parents, but their faces were unrecognizable. The man was broad shouldered and wore a suit, though his hair was a silvery blue that clashed with the faded pinstripe he wore. The woman was well muscled, and had stains on her shirt that smelled like oil. She had the looks of a mechanic about her. She gave a devil-may-care grin at me when I looked in her direction. Then the house began to shake and for some reason, I found myself sprinting towards them. The woman's grin faded and she glared at me, but the man held out his arms . . . just before fading away amidst a cloud of ash and smoke. _

"_You are on your own, Brielle," she said, her eyes hard on mine. I couldn't quite think of their color. Her voice was gentle and at the same time, like iron. The smell of oil and gas was incredibly strong now. "You are and always have been. But you'll return. An orphan always does."_

_My feet felt frozen to the ground and though I tried to speak, my throat felt clogged and I couldn't breathe. All I could see were the woman's eyes . . . iridescent, fading to black._

"_Return."_

I gasped as I woke up, my eyes flying open, my body jerking as I struggled to breathe and remember where I was and what I was doing.

Which was, all things considered, stupid.

My chest was on fire, and I don't know what _didn't_ hurt on my body. I did notice one thing however, straight away; I could see out of _two_ eyes.

Sunlight was streaming out above me and I could hear the sounds of shuffling something below me; kitchen pots and pans. It took a moment for my mind to register the smell of baking chicken and when it did register, my stomach respond with a purr. I looked around the room I was in a little more, making note that I had never anything so spotless. The walls bore shelves packed with CD's and the bedroom itself was huge, though not much space seemed to be taken up. The windows were large, expanding the place more. But so far, the most I got was a spectacular view of the ceiling.

I remembered most of the wreck, of the people I had seen. I cast the wolves off to imagination; for all I know they were just dogs. Perhaps the people had been hunters. Whoever those people had been, they had saved me . . . saved my life. I thought for a moment about what had happened, how I had ended up in Washington of all places. A fleeting sense of panic rose in my chest and sent my heart flying.

Those men were still out there.

Before I could register what I was doing, I was pushing myself up, despite the staggering pain in my shoulder. Red flags were waving in the back of my head like crazy but I didn't know what else to do. Linen sheets and a thick comforter slid off of me. Thankfully I was dressed in something different; a very stylish nightgown.

"Oh . . . You shouldn't do that!" said a female's voice . . . a little to late. My head started to spin and my stomach lurched. "Carlisle said you aren't strong enough yet."

I felt a pair of cold hands help me back down and I blinked a few times, trying to see whoever was above me. When the black spots finally faded, a young woman was looking at me a bit too happily. Her eyes were a startling amber color, and her hair was short, dark and feathery. She was practically glowing.

Or maybe it was just the sunlight.

"Hello," she sang. "My name is Alice."

I could only stare stupidly for a moment and then I licked my lips. My mouth was dry and parched. I tried to talk but I ended up coughing like idiot, clutching my chest as I did so. I let her tilt my head up some and press a glass of water to my lips. I all but chugged it down.

"What's your name?" she asked sweetly.

I had never been a people person really, and her cheery attitude was hint enough that she and I were exact opposites. I sighed, casting my eyes around as I debated whether to speak or play dumb.

"Don't worry. You're in safe hands here. You don't have to be afraid of us."

I sighed again. It wasn't them I was afraid of . . . well, at least, they weren't high on my "top worries" list.

"My name is Brielle August."

"Oh that's a pretty name!"

"Call me Brie . . ." I mumbled. I tried pulling the covers back over me. I succeeded in only stressing my shoulder more.

"If you're in pain, we have some –"

"No," I said, before she could finish. Drugs and me never really went well together. They either tended to have the reverse affect or I got all the side affects possible with no help to the pain. I'd done it all.

She was quiet for a moment and when I looked over again, she was gone. I hadn't even heard her leave. With a sigh, I closed my eyes once more.

"So you're my new patient," said a calm, cool collected voice.

I peered through slitted eyes and then opened them wider when a tall, pale face peered down at me. I glared and then raised my eyebrows. He was a _doctor?_ He seemed so young . . . But I remembered what that one person had said, how safe he made me feel. I felt compelled to trust him.

"Alice tells me you like to be called Brie."

"Yes."

"Nice to meet you, you can call me Carlisle. I'll tell you what. You're on the mend now, so by tomorrow, we'll talk more about what you want to do."

"About what I want to do?"

"You can check into the hospital _here_ or –"

"No!" I said sharply. He stared at me; calmly and collectedly. "I mean . . . no . . . I just . . . I don't know."

"Do you want to call to call your parents to tell them you'll be home in a few days?"

I closed my eyes and shook my head, my throat tightening.

"I don't have a home." I could already tell what he was thinking. _Runaway._ "I just . . . I just want to go."

"Well, that wont be for a while yet." I was surprised that he didn't ask questions. Instead, he stuck a cool hand to my forehead and then lightly pressed his fingers to my throat; checking my pulse I imagine. He pressed my shoulder, checked one my legs. I bit my tongue to hold back the whimpers that wanted to come out. "You're in pretty good shape for someone who took a spill in the snow, but your leg and shoulder are pretty mangled."

"Great." I mumbled.

He smiled at me and I looked away.

"Listen, Brie. It's not hard to guess that something bad happened to you." When I didn't answer, he pushed farther. "Would you like to tell me why my sons found you bound and gagged in the middle of Forks?"

_Forks?_ Where the hell was that? Next to spoons, I suppose . . .

I turned my head away from his compelling gaze, playing it safe for now. In reality I didn't know much, but I hadn't forgotten everything. It didn't mean I wanted to share it though.

"I don't remember being bound and gagged." I said, steadfastly.

"I see." I could tell by the tone of his voice he didn't believe me. "Well, I'll let you rest for now. If you need anything, just call, one of us will come running."

I turned my head so I faced the window again, studying the falling snow as it landed on the green needles of the pines outside. I sighed and refused to say anything else.

"Welcome to the Cullen clan," he said with a little laugh in his voice.

I'm not a runaway . . . I knew that was what he was thinking, and that's all I could think about. I'm not a runaway.

I heard the door shut behind me and knew he was gone. Finally.

He couldn't report me. I wasn't a runaway. I wasn't going back to those damn foster homes.

I was a stray, and I _didn't_ need to be taken care of.


	2. Chapter 2 Hopeless

**Two**

_**Hopeless**_

The next day I woke from the pain.

I guessed that it was somewhere around 3 AM; I had always had a keen sense of time. I was sure the household would be asleep, which, despite my people phobia, gave me a sense of insecurity. Maybe it was just because the house was foreign and I was in a place called Forks, injured and trusting people when I usually didn't trust anyone. I was being forced to trust them, and in all honesty, I didn't like it.

That and it was dark. I'll be the first to admit that I'm also afraid of the dark, childish as it may seem.

I shifted when I could, carefully trying to avoid moving my legs and shoulder to much. I didn't feel as sick as before, but my back was starting to ache from lying down so much. When the pain got to be too much to bear, I closed my eyes and tried some labor breathing techniques (my last foster mother had been a yoga instructor) and it helped ease the pain, just a little.

That's when I heard a knock at my door.

I remembered his face instantly; the blond hair, the bright, calm eyes, the youthful face; it was a relief to see his head pop into the room.

"Come in," I said. With him in the room, even my pain felt like nothing.

He came up next to me without much more than a footfall, sitting on the edge of my bed. I couldn't tell what it was that made me instantly like him; I had never really liked anyone. It bothered me why he was so different.

"I came to check on you." He said softly, though his eyes seemed distracted, locking firmly on mine. He looked a little strange, but I still wasn't nervous. "To see if you need anything."

"No, thanks." I mumbled half heartedly, trying to push myself to a sitting position. My back was seriously killing me.

Black spots appeared in front of my eyes as my shoulder flared with pain and I heard myself let out a yelp.

_Stupid . . . stupid . . . stupid! _

"Carlisle said you were stubborn." He said, helping me up, putting more pillows behind me. I sighed, defeated, as he chuckled lightly. "Are you _positive_ you don't want anything?"

I was wishing that the other guy . . . Emmett . . . was here. At least then I wouldn't have been so hesitant to make a sarcastic comment. When I was settled again, he was still standing, looking at me with compassion.

"Perhaps we got started out on the wrong foot. Carlisle says your name is Brielle."

"Brie,"

"Brie," he repeated, nodding gentlemanly. "It's my pleasure. I'm Jasper."

"Um . . . nice to meet you." I was never good with formalities.

"We cooked some dinner for you earlier but Carlisle said you needed to rest. Are you hungry?"

My stomach answered before I did, growling now, but I still felt an ache of nausea that made me cringe. I was hungry, but I had no idea if I would even be able to keep any food down.

"You'll need to eat something," he said, as though he had read my thoughts.

I looked over at the jug of water and the empty glass on the table next to me. Without speaking, he poured me a glass and helped me drink; I was embarrassed to find that my hands and arms didn't respond very well. I drank a couple glasses down before speaking again. I felt a little better now; at least it seemed possible that I would keep fluids down.

"Something light, I guess. . ." I mumbled. "Got any saltines?"

"I'll see what we can gather up for you." He said with a grin and then was out of the room.

I stared at the walls in silence, the soft moonlight shimmering on the CD's and the spotless shelves. They must have stuck in me in some kind of study, was my guess. Not to many teenagers I knew had such clean rooms like this. The smell of the place was also something I had picked up on; it was hard to describe – but I liked it. It was . . . attractive. Akin to walking past a man's clothing store in the mall; some things just draw you in.

The next thing on my mind was a bit harder to wrap around. How was I going to get out of here? I had been with my last foster family for two years and felt certain, despite the odds for a sixteen year old, that they were going to go through the whole adoption process. They were the first family I had really gotten any sort of attachment too, even if I never openly said anything about it. I think they got the message regardless. And then . . .

And then they were gone, just like all the others before me. But this time, there had been a reason - I had seen them die, murdered right before my eyes. There were two men, which was all I could remember about them. I don't remember being bound and gagged, just that when I woke up next, I was . . . and traveling down some unknown highway in the back of their vehicle. I remember that I wasn't terrified at first. Instead, I was filled with utter, bitter hate. And then the wreck had happened, and now I was _here,_ and they were still out _there._

My eyes took in the shadows around the room again and I felt a shudder run down my spine. I wanted to cry but was to frozen with pain and thought to do much else than sit there.

When Jasper returned, I was determined to eat on my own, and I picked up the crackers he offered me with dumb fingers, shaking with the effort. I hated feeling so weak. When I looked up again, he was still there, sitting across the room, gazing out of the window, unmoving. Part of me wanted to tell him that he didn't need to be my watchdog; that he could go back to bed.

But that part of me never spoke. Instead, I quietly nibbled at the crackers and then closed my eyes, not intending to fall asleep, but somehow managing to do so anyway.

* * *

I woke somewhere in the middle of the day next, my neck crooked to one side. I blinked and slowly raised my head. There was no sun; instead snow was clinging in large clumps on the window beside me and I shivered.

"Oh good, you're awake!"

I jumped and winced, remembering that voice from before. Her name . . . Alice?

"Yeah . . . I don't think my bladder would let me sleep much longer . . ."

She laughed a little as I continued to grumble at the window. I hated the cold.

"The bathroom's down the hall, but Carlisle didn't think you could walk."

"Are both my legs actually broken?" he had never said anything directly, just that I had been smashed up pretty good.

She shrugged her petite little shoulders and clasped her hands behind her back. I looked up at her and she was smiling. Not exactly what I wanted to see right now.

"Not necessarily. Your right leg and shoulder he thinks you just sprained. It's your left leg that he's more concerned about; he needs to make sure though. Today, he's going to run you through some x-rays, after he gets off his hospital shift." After all I did was nod and look away, she spoke up again. "I can help you . . . you know, get to the bathroom. Carlisle was sure to provide a wheel chair."

I looked up at her, feeling slightly embarrassed and in awe at the same time; these people had _everything._

"So are you feeling any better pain wise?" I heard her ask as she shuffled around with something behind me. "Carlisle gave you some morphine a while ago to hold off the pain for a while. Jasper said you were having quite a bit."

I was too stunned to say anything for a moment. True, I hadn't been in pain when I woke up. But medication had never done anything for me before; I don't see why it would work now . . . and when exactly had he done it? I would have thought I would feel a shot going in my arm. Nor had I complained about my pain before . . .

"Ready?"

I looked up at her, my cheeks turning red as she kicked out the folded chair. I didn't like this feeling of helplessness, especially in someone's home. If I had been in a hospital, at least I'd have more of a reason to feel less embarrassed, but I didn't see myself walking on my own anytime soon. I sighed and shifted so she could help me down. I staggered slightly, but she caught me and all but lifted me into the chair. It surprised how strong she seemed; she seemed so . . . tiny. Then it occurred to me . . . I had a damaged arm and two damaged legs . . .

"Should I be moving at all?" I asked.

"You're legs are in splints," she said it so casually that I shook my head as looked down at them. "And you're arm is bandaged up nice and tight until he can get a better look."

Wow, I must have been really out of it . . .

As I was pushed down the hallway, I couldn't help but be in awe of how big the house was, how bright and open the windows were. Alice was whistling behind me, and I heard a low murmur of voices below. I didn't both trying to figure out how many others there were here. I felt bad enough that I was infringing on their empty space. Simply being here at all felt like too much.

But from the looks of things, I wasn't going anywhere fast.

At least here I could remain somewhat confidential.

* * *

Hours later, with a full stomach now and pain slowly rising pack to the surface, I found myself smelling the clean smell of a hospital and lying on my back as a large x-ray machine towered over me. Part of me felt more comfortable seeing Carlisle in uniform, complete with real nurses. At least he wasn't some nutcase.

Turned out my left leg was indeed broken, but nothing beyond repair. My right leg was just twisted wrong and stressed, so it_ felt_ like it was broken (or that was my conclusion) and my shoulder had a similar problem, not to mention it was so bruised up that my entire arm was black and blue. He preformed on my leg that night and when I woke up again, not only was my leg in a cast but I was also back at the Cullens' house.

I woke with a muffled groan, blinking at the person standing above me. It was Carlisle, and behind him was Alice and another woman; Jasper peeked around the corner.

"Good Morning, sweetie." It was the other woman and I looked at her dumbly as she took my hand in hers; her skin felt soft. "How are you feeling?"

I blinked at her and then realized her hands were cold too. God, did this people ever turn on their heater?

"This is my wife, Esme." Carlisle said, distracting me.

"Hello," I muttered.

She smiled, looking so motherly for a moment that I lightly gripped her hand back. She leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on my forehead. Alice was looking at Jasper and beckoned him in the room. He nodded to me and stood straight and proper beside Alice. Carlisle put a cool hand to my forehead.

"You seem to be doing well. How do you feel?"

I shrugged. I felt dizzy, really, but I wasn't in as much pain. That was a bonus.

"I survived." Was my meek reply. I turned to Jasper and for the first time (to my knowledge) I smiled sincerely at him. "Thanks . . . for saving my life."

Alice beamed and hugged his arm as he gave a sheepish nod back. I didn't know what possessed me to do that. I rarely thanked people for much. Not that I was being crude, I just felt awkward saying it. But it was Jasper . . . and he had somehow magically gained my trust literally over night. I sighed and looked up at Carlisle. He was giving me a look that said he wanted answers. Esme ushered the other two out of the room as he sat down in a chair next to the bed I was in.

"I want to talk to you." He said smoothly, his eyes kind and bright.

I sighed and looked away grumpily. I wasn't giving.

"Look," he began again. "I pulled a lot of strings to let you stay with my family instead of keeping you at the hospital. It isn't exactly normal for a teenager to be bound and gagged in the middle of car wreck with no one else in sight."

I nodded. That was true.

"I thought you might feel safer here."

"I don't know where I feel safe at." I said, brushing hair out of my face. "I don't know where safe _is_ anymore."

"Well," he said, leaning back. "We'll start on building trust. My family and I want to help you, if you'll just let us in."

"Yeah," I remarked offhandedly. "We'll see about that . . ."

"What happened?"

The tone of his voice captured me, and I turned to look at him again. His eyes seemed to grow brighter, pulling me in, willing me to pour my soul to him . . .

"I told you," I growled suddenly. "I don't remember anything."

The atmosphere in the room seemed to change, or maybe it was just me. I wanted to hug my knees to my chest and let my mind go for a while, but considering the impossibility of the action, I settled for shutting my mind down and deciding to deny anything he threw at me.

"You're lying, you're scared, but I respect that." He sighed as he stood up and I was biting my tongue. "I won't push you now, Brie. But we _want_ to help you, let us. At least tell me where you come from."

Where I come from . . . hm, where to _start?_

"It doesn't matter. As soon as you give my name out I'm back into foster care anyway." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wished I hadn't said them.

You see, there's this thing about kids being in foster care that brings out a sensitivity factor in people when they usually aren't apt to pity on the general public. It was okay for little kids, the ones that actually _needed_ the attention, but when you've been living a life like mine (and I know plenty of other teens that would agree with me), the pity gets old, mostly because you know that by now if no one wanted to officially adopt you before now, your chances were just getting slimmer. It didn't help when the government officially gave up on you at 18 either.

As expected, this struck a chord with Dr. Cullen.

He sat back down again, using those intense eyes of his again, but his face was concerned and soft all at the same time. I was ready for what he was about to say; I had to face it. I had heard it all before.

"Do you know, Brielle, I have five children?"

Good for him.

"All of which are my foster children?"

Well, wasn't expecting _that_ . . .

I could only stare, zombie like at him before realizing my mouth was open. For a second, I couldn't decide whether I hated him, because he was just another foster parent, or . . . or . . . I didn't know what else. My brain just couldn't wrap around irony of ending up in another foster home in a rather unplanned way.

"So . . . so . . .Jasper, and . . . Alice . . ." I blinked rapidly. "And Emmett . . ."

"You have yet to meet Rosalie and Edward, but we'll let you get your bearings for a few days first, I think." He said with a grin.

It made sense, I guess, now that I thought about it. Him and his wife were so young, there was no way they should've had teenage children already. And he had so many . . . I had never been with more than three others.

"So you don't have any parents?"

His question hung, unanswered in the air for a long time. I didn't know what to say. If I admitted to seeing my last foster family being murdered, I knew they'd find the authorities and be rid of me again, because I had been involved in something suspicious. I was bound and gagged in the middle of nowhere in Forks, Washington with no suspects around and from what little information I had heard, there was no news on the case. I wouldn't blame them for wanting to be rid of me. I would bring to much trouble to their quiet little family.

"No." I finally said. "I don't have any parents, doc. I never have had any actually, and by the looks of things, I never will."

He laid a cool hand on mine but I pulled away with a hard stare. He didn't back down.

"Don't give up. None of my children ever did, and I would not give _them_ up for anything."

"Yeah, you say that now." I muttered.

He gave me a look that said volumes; I knew this because I'd seen it before. The look that said he wasn't angered by what I said, nor was he offended. He was sorry for me, and wished I could see his side of the story, and have some hope.

But I knew there wasn't hope. I had stopped caring. Teenagers were hardly the keepers, if anyone got adopted it was the little kids. Kind of like walking into a pound; the puppies are usually the first to go. The older dogs know the drill and you can see it in their eyes as you walk past; they may thump their tails a time or two, but don't expect them to get to too excited.

"Just face it, doc, I'm a stray. My past doesn't matter. I've grown too resilient against the world, nothings going to change."

"If you would just let us help you, Brie, I'm sure – "

"Just get out!" I snapped.

He looked taken aback, and this gave me some satisfaction. I turned away, eyeing the foggy window.

"I'm sorry." I muttered emptily.

I felt him touch my shoulder and then heard the door close. After a few harsh moments of restrained breathing, I finally let myself cry.

I didn't bother any of them for the rest of the day.


	3. Chapter 3 Deal

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Note:  Just wanted to thank all those that have been reading this story! You guys are awesome.

As always, Twilight and all associated characters are copyrighted to Stephenie Meyer; others are all mine!

Enjoy :)

* * *

**Three**

_**Deal**_

There is a saying that states something along the lines of: wherever there is darkness, there is also light. I think it sprang from something religious. I just remember my own variation of the quote, back when I was with a family that actually attended church on Sundays and believed that there was a God, and had their own two biological children baptized.

Yeah, I remember that Bible thumping family. They were so for the children that as soon as the wife discovered she wasn't as sterile as the doctors thought she was it was out the door with me. Of course, they never said it like that, they weren't _that_ cold. They just liked to be more subtle about it. Instead, when foster services arrived to check in on me and my new family, they had a private conversation, (without twelve-year-old me) as they discussed my "untrusting" behavior and poor performance in school. I wasn't happy here, and they wanted me to be in a home where I could feel more at ease.

I guess that's what you get for being a C average student. It's not my fault I suck at every subject except gym.

So back to the saying.

For some reason, it always stuck with me, even if I totally mutated the original form. I think because I was actually afraid of the darkness, and the dark things that came out of it. Yes, yours truly was and is afraid of the boogie-man. But people never got it; I actually _saw_ things . . . real things . . . things that spoke to and touched me.

Only the light ever scared them away, only the light made me feel better.

* * *

"_Oh Brielle, you're in trouble again . . ."_

_I looked up. It was the woman I had dreamt about other night, the one that smelled of oil and whose shirt was tight over a muscled body. I noticed an iridescent tattoo on the side of her neck before she turned her bright eyes on mine. Her hair was boy cut, though her bangs hung over to one side, ending in a neat, dark tip. Her hair was a dark red color, but there seemed to be a slight tint to it when she walked . . ._

"_Brielle . . ." I looked into her face. There was that grin, the kind that frightened devils, demons, and crabby substitute teachers. "I can't find you, lovely. You'll have to find me."_

_The scent of oil and gas was once more doubly present. I reached out to her and she let me touch her arm. A shock seemed to spread through me and she laughed. _

"_The feel of power, lovely."_

"_How do I find you?" I asked the question, but I don't think my mouth opened._

_She smirked and turned her back to me. _

"_You have my scent, don't you?"_

_I nodded without thinking. When I tried to walk towards her, my movements became languid and slow, and suddenly I was thrashing in one place, trying to get to her. _

"_Silly, Brielle . . ." she turned towards me again, her eyes iridescent as before, fading to black like they had. "Silly, sweet, _naïve_ Brielle . . . Do you really think it would be that easy?"_

I woke with a start, and then let out a light simper as I realized it was still dark in my room.

Yes, it had become _my_ room. I had been here for three weeks now and that's the only thing it had ever been referred to. So, it just got stuck to becoming my possession, for now. I was still planning on getting out of here somehow.

I pushed myself up slowly, my eyes quickly scanning the area around me. My arm had healed fairly quickly. It was still stiff, but nearly as sore as it had been, and I was able to use it no problem. My leg was still in a cast, but I was using crutches now. I had taken it upon myself to wander their home a little; though the only people I only ever really saw were Carlisle, Jasper, and Alice. Once and a while, Esme would come see me. I never saw his other two kids, or the first one that found me – Emmett. I could hear him though; he was loud and tended to laugh a lot. He sounded like the typical big, annoying brother out of book or movie. I yawned as the darkness remained still and uninteresting. Oddly enough, I felt a sense of security here. I had determined that these people were not crazy lunatics trying to seduce me into joining some cult of theirs.

It didn't mean, however, that I was handing over any information.

I continued to lie there, staring up at the black ceiling, my arms folded behind my head. I sighed, thinking about God and religion . . . I had gone threw so many homes with so many beliefs and standards that it was hard figuring out what to believe and what didn't make sense and what _I_ thought made sense. Sometimes, I felt like giving up all together, but that just made me go cold inside, a feeling I was not at all partial too. I was sure there was something, mainly because I had held my own religious experience; to me, the goose bumps you get from walking into a church aren't for nothing. Maybe it is to some, but to me, it was the only comfort I got out of life.

Glancing over the side of the bed, I eyed my crutches half heartedly. I knew I wouldn't be getting back to sleep anytime soon. Bracing myself on my arms, I carefully placed my good leg over the side of the bed, dragging my cast with it. I shivered in the chilly air, straightening out my good leg. It was still sore somewhat, and tended to grow stiff. Sometimes my knee would lock up on me, but otherwise I was able to walk on it fine. I was reaching down to grab my crutches when I hesitated.

The hair on my arm went straight up and I felt the breath from my lungs leave me. My fingers grew cold and my body went rigid with terror; I'd had this feeling before. I made myself look at the shadows that streamed out from my under the bed, covering the crutches. They were darker, and had a shape to them that my eyes made out to be small fingers, flickering where the moon caught them.

"Stop it!" I muttered quietly to myself, closing my eyes. "Get a hold of yourself Brie . . ."

I jumped and my eyes flew open when I felt something touch my ankle. Suddenly, my mind was filled with memories . . .

"_Brielle run!" my last foster father's face was obscured; I didn't want to remember the fear on his face. "Out the back! Go!"_

_I had been frozen, staring at the bloody body of my foster mother, Maria. I stepped back one step back when I heard the gun shot and my knees gave out. I hadn't been hit . . . but my father had. _

"_Keith!"_

_There was so much blood . . . I could only kneel there, trembling. These people were dark, and it wasn't just the clothing. Their skin was the color black, and not the race. They moved odd, I couldn't make out their faces . . ._

_When their fingers touched my cheek, I shuddered. I remember I got sick, heaving on the floor before one of the two stepped forward. He tried to raise my chin, to look into his face, but somehow I knew this was wrong . . . it was very . . . wrong . . ._

"_We'll take her with us then!" said the other._

_Before I could even comprehend why they would want to kidnap me instead of kill me, I felt a twinge in my neck and my world darkened._

_The last thing I remembered was that these things had not entered through any doorways or windows . . . they had already been in my room . . . in my closet . . . I had forgotten to shut the door . . ._

I gasped and tried to drag my ankle back. I looked around the room to find it complete darkness, the pitch black that didn't even allow the moonlight in. My heart was in my throat as I waiting for something to happen; the silence was worse than the stillness.

Suddenly one of my crutches seemed to fly across the room and crash into all the CDs on the wall. I made a grab for the other one as I saw start to tremble; I couldn't help the scream that erupted from my throat as I felt myself jerked from off the bed. Time seemed to slow for a moment, my hands desperately clutching onto the crutch . . .

The next moment I was slammed into the wall of music like a rag doll. I heard CDs crash around me and the instant my head hit the floor, everything went quiet . . . well, save for the dull ringing in my ears. I whimpered as I opened my eyes and saw that I was facing the door . . . and there was light coming underneath it.

_There is light. . ._

Something cold seemed to crawl along my body again, making me curl into a fetal position, or as best I could with one leg in a cast.

"Stop it." I muttered again, but even to _my_ ears it had less feeling.

I was relieved when the door to my room flew open, letting the light from the hallway flood in.

"Brie!"

It was Alice.

"Brie! Are you okay?"

"Fine . . ." I stuttered. It was halfhearted. How else was I supposed to feel after being thrown across the room by the boogie-man?

"If you needed help, you should have called for one of us! We don't mind."

I sighed. She thought I had fallen. Well, it was better than her getting wound up in my crazy life. I did my best to avoid eye contact and stiffly pushed myself onto my elbows. I felt strong hands reached under and help me to my feet. I looked up and saw Jasper looking at me worriedly. I felt my cheeks flush and made my other leg straighten out to give him some help, though he really didn't seem to need it. Alice handed me my crutches.

"Will you be okay to walk?" she asked sweetly. I nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fi –"

"You're trembling." Alice and I both looked up at him as he slowly let me go. My hands were slick as I gripped my crutches and I swallowed. So what if I was?

"The fall scared me a little." I lied slightly, staring at my feet again. "I thought I might hurt my leg again."

_Yep,_ it sounded even more stupid being spoken than it did in my head.

No one was speaking . . . instead I looked up to see them exchanging glances, my eyes flicking back and forth between them. They almost seemed to be communicating wordlessly, but I couldn't figure out the odd look in Alice's eyes. I jumped when I heard a booming voice behind and turned to find that Emmett had (oddly) snuck up on us.

"What's going on? I heard a – Woah." He stared at me in strange way and I glared back at him. "How is . . . her hair . . . did you know it did that?"

I almost asked what he was talking about but the truth was – I knew exactly what he was talking about. With a look of irritation, I brought up a pale hand and grabbed a long strand of hair that had once been a dark brown and was now turning to a bright red.

"Freak . . ." I muttered.

* * *

I could usually sense when I was about to Change, nothing special happened, I just _knew_. The fact that this came on so suddenly scared me a little. I had been so careful all my life to never let any of my foster families see; I knew I would make the news or something and probably end up either in a science lab or in a circus freak show. The fact that none of them screamed or laughed surprised me; I would have thought my "magic hair" would be a big deal. At least, I'd never heard of it being a common thing in society. But then, I _was_ just a poor little orphan girl who lived under a rock most of her life.

After I assured them I was okay and after my trembling had gone away, Alice insisted I lay on the couch and I complied, mostly because I wasn't willing to back to my dark room with a dark thing waiting for me. But I put on a good act, grudgingly accepting the pillow and blanket and the warm cup of coco. They were nice enough people, so I didn't complain to much; that's one thing I'd learned on my own in the past several years. Never bite the hand that feeds you. I came across several good families in my lifetime, and several not-so-good . . . I knew which ones not to offend and when to hold back the sarcasm.

Except with Emmett, his very presence just _inspired_ new sarcastic quotes.

Later that morning, I must have fallen asleep again, but when I woke up, I heard voices, and my name, so naturally, I kept my eyes closed. I may not be a magnificent liar, but I could out fake-sleep anybody.

"I felt more than just fear," that was unmistakably Jasper. "She was terrified. She didn't fall, Carlisle. Something else happened that she's not telling us about."

"I think there is a lot more she isn't telling us about." said Carlisle evenly.

It was hard not to tense or making any sort of motion to let them know I was listening. He had called me out . . . and though I wasn't normally surprised, I hadn't actually lied about anything, at least, nothing concerning the fall. And I had been terrified, and there was a lot that I wasn't telling them. A lot more than they'd ever know.

"I want to keep her with us," Carlisle was speaking again. "There's something . . . wrong, about all this and I –"

"Carlisle, you're doing this again!" I didn't recognize this voice; it was sharp, feminine, and a viperous bite to it. "You did this with Bella, and now your doing it with . . . her . . . Look where it almost got us last time!"

"Rosalie . . ." that was Esme, and though her tone was soft, it was also daring.

"No!" spat Rosalie. "No! Why should we help her? This isn't even like it was in Bella's case, we don't even know what we are getting ourselves into. We already know she's something else entirely, Alice and Edward can't get anything on her, the only one that seems to be having any success is Jasper and that's not really doing us much good!"

I didn't have a clue what she was talking about or who Bella was (Carlisle never mentioned a Bella) but once she mentioned Jasper in that tone of voice, I felt myself grow angry. I kept it from my face easily but I had an instant dislike for her.

"Come on now, Rose. . ." that was Emmett. "You didn't find her. She was pretty mangled . . ."

"I don't care! We are putting this family in danger again and this time there is a child involved, in case you forgot!"

I sighed softly in my sleep. Of course; I was a bane of existence in their family already. I somehow knew this was going to happen. Most of them had been kind to me at least; I was thankful for that. As soon as my leg was healed, I would be out of their hair in a heartbeat.

"She is staying with us." Carlisle said firmly. An abrupt stillness took the room and he lowered his voice some. "Couldn't you smell her blood, Rosalie? She is different."

_Smell my blood? What the hell . . ._

"Yes I knew she was different! I don't need to smell her; I mean her hair _changes color!_"

"I found that rather fascinating actually . . ."

"Alice!"

"Rosalie!" I heard Alice's mock-evil giggle follow right after and had to fight the urge to smile. Maybe she was okay.

"As I was saying," Carlisle continued; I imagined he was staring at Rosalie rather sternly. At least his voice sounded like it. "She's different. And I think . . . somethings wrong. She was bound when she got here, and whoever had her, obviously had run from the scene. She's frightened, she doesn't know who to trust. And if someone or something is after her . . ." he paused, leaving a tense silence to follow. I realized I was holding my breath and slowly let it out. "I'm determined to help her. She came into our care, and so far, has trusted us. I cannot let her down."

"I agree." said Jasper's steady voice.

"So do I." said Alice calmly.

I felt something shudder through my body and only one thought could really stay in my mind; someone cared. But I wasn't too anxious to grip too tight to their hospitality; I had done that many times before and fallen hard on my face. But this just felt so different. . .

"She's awake." Jasper said suddenly.

_Damn it . . ._ How did he _know?_

I fluttered my eyes open, staring at them all in turn with a glazed looked that I had long since mastered. Most of them looked familiar; Carlisle was sitting in a large rocking chair, Esme standing beside him with a soft hand resting on his arm. On the couch on the far wall sat Jasper, Alice cross-legged on the floor next to him. A teenage looking boy sat in the middle, stoic almost, gazing at me hard and uncertainly.

_Creep . . ._

Then there was Emmett. When I looked at him, his face lit up like a little boy on Christmas day, which quickly transferred to a casual eye-roll as Rosalie (or who I assumed to be, Rosalie) glared him, and then at me. She stood up, locking her bright eyes with mine. I raised an eyebrow at her, as if to say "bring it on" before she turned on her heel and stalked out of the room. Emmett got up and followed her.

"Just ignore her." Emmett said, with a lopsided apologetic grin.

"Yeah," I turned to see the other boy smirking. I sifted through my memory; Carlisle said he had another son . . . Edwin? No . . . Edward? That sounded more like it . . . I think. "That's what the rest of us do."

I liked the looks of him; he had a strong sense of personality about him and was very handsome, but I couldn't tell if he would be friend or foe. I swallowed and pushed myself up to a sitting position. Carlisle stood and everyone's eyes suddenly followed him as he came towards me. His smile was kind, and it reached his eyes. I swallowed and struggled to hold eye contact.

"Brielle," he said softly. "I'd like to make a deal with you."

I kept my face calm but before the doctor could say anything else, Edward spoke up.

"Carlisle! Do you really think – "

"It's okay Edward." Carlisle said quietly. "I've thought this through. Now, Brielle, I know you've been through a lot, and I know you don't remember much, but I want to help you. You know about my foster kids . . ." he stepped back some to reveal the couch bearing Jasper, Alice, and Edward. "If I promise to help you and we figure how to help you, together . . ."

"No . . ." it was quiet, but out of my mouth before I even knew it. I hated it when people made promises. Most of them were empty anyway.

"Wait," he held up a hand. "Let's say you don't feel the same in about oh. . . three weeks, when I'm guessing you'll get your cast off? Then, I let you go. I wont call child services, I wont delve into your history or personal records or anything; I'll just say you ran away."

Now I was listening. I nodded.

"Okay. But meanwhile, I want to help you, we all do. If I promise to save you from whatever trouble you're in, to heal wounds that need to be healed . . ." I guessed he was talking about more than just my physical ones. "And if you agree to it, would you be willing to take a chance and join my family?"

"Carlisle!" It was Esme. I had inkling he hadn't told her of his intentions and I felt a cold pit build in my stomach.

One look at Jasper and it went away. There was so much trust in his quiet son's eyes that when I looked back at him, I had an easier time with the blunt question. Another family, another home . . .I bit my lip and mulled over what to say. He wanted to help; I got that. But I doubted he could do anything about the boogie-man in my closet . . .

"And you promise you wont give me up? You promise not to take me on and then dump for a reason that you made up on the spot?"

"I haven't given up on them." he nodded to the three on the couch. Then he smiled. "Including Rosalie."

I looked at the three of them. Edward looked unsure, Alice was practically glowing and Jasper . . . Jasper looked twitchy. In a good way. I thought about having Emmett as a big brother and then inwardly cringed at having Rosalie as a big sister. I looked tentatively at Esme who smiled kindly. She wasn't Maria, but she reminded me a lot of my previous foster mom; warm and kindly . . .

Was I looking at my new family? Or was I setting myself up for a new failure? No one had said a word about my hair . . .

"I wont pressure you," Carlisle said, holding out a hand. "But if you choose to let me adopt you, I swear you'll be a Cullen forever."

There was a lot packed behind those words and when I looked at his hands, I felt my own start to tremble. Instead of foster, he had said the word "adopt." It was the finality I had waited for all my life. Could he really mean it? Did he really think he could help me?

_Maybe he could_, something inside me said.

"No matter what?" I asked meekly.

"Even if you turn out to be from Mars."

I smiled. "What if I'm a blood sucking vampire? Or I go werewolf on you when the full moon is out?"

Carlisle laughed but I caught a side glance from Edward that changed when Alice kicked him slightly. Maybe he didn't like me . . .

"_Especially_ if you turn out to be a blood sucking vampire."

I felt my cheeks burn as I looked down at his hand. Well, what did I have to lose? I looked at Jasper and Alice again and I felt myself smile. I turned to Esme who was looking at me anxiously. Taking a deep breath, my hand shot out and gripped his. I didn't think twice about.

"You have a deal, doc." I said through the lump in my throat. "Good luck."

I think all of us jumped when Alice squealed with excitement.


	4. Chapter 4 Posse

**Note:** Once again, don't own anything Twilight associated. Anything un-Twilight is mine!

And as a side note, any good, helpful critiques are appriciated, or even just a kind word about the story so far. Anything is encouraging! :)

Enjoy!

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* * *

**Four**

_**Posse **_

The next week, Carlisle decided that we needed to start work on solving my life's problems. For some reason, this included enrolling me in Forks High School, home of the Spartans.

Monday morning, Carlisle dropped me off with a smile, lunch money, and a promise that the day would go well. I sighed, grudgingly limping towards the school, a hand-me-down bag slung on my shoulder. I held a death grip on my crutches, eying the icy side walk with disdain. Really? It just _had_ to be winter? I sighed, watching my breath fog in the air. I looked around as kids started milling around me, some were staring and I bit my lip and continued to gimp towards the front door. I'd lived in small towns before, where everyone knew everyone else and having some one new was like a novelty and a game; who would talk to the new kid first? Who would she be friends with? What pranks could we pull on her? Would she pull them back?

I turned to glance once more at Carlisle before he waved and drove away. Oh, I was going to regret ever agreeing to this . . .

Boldly, I went forward anyway, slipping through the doors as students went through so that I wouldn't have to try and open them on my own. A few glanced at me but I didn't give them time to speak. Instead, I "bolted" as fast as I could down the packed hallways, which, I must say, wasn't exactly all that easy on crutches and a slippery floor. I stopped hesitantly when I arrived at a crossway in the hall, looking down row after row of lockers. I must have looked as lost as I felt because finally some kind soul stopped in the middle of traffic (a very dangerous thing to do in morning rush hour) and asked if I needed anything.

"Main office."

"Take a right and then a left." He said with a smile. "Want me to walk you there?"

"Thanks, and no, I got this." I looked up at him; he was entirely too tall for his own good. "I'm handicapped, not on my death bed."

He laughed and continued to follow me. Great; it was already starting.

"So what's your name, Gimpy?"

I swung around, nearly catching him with my bag as it, too, swung around. I glared and he took a surprised step back. I got a good look at him; round face, bright, amber eyes, dark hair that reached his ears. I knew his type. He was cocky, be he jock or otherwise.

"Alright . . . alright . . . it's not Gimpy . . ."

I sighed. _Play nice . . ._ my inner voice said.

"My name's Brielle."

"Nice. I'm Dante."

"Unique."

"Yours too."

We walked in silence for a while, pushing our way through packed hallways and slow walking students. That was one of my greatest pet peeves; other students that thought they owned the hallway. Seriously; the huge vast black hole that is our universe has one tiny focus point and it _isn't_ them! Then there are the freshmen who go swimming in their perfume or cologne. But at least there weren't any stairs here . . . nice small school, one level only. At one point, however, the herd was stalled and I wasn't sure it would be good on my first day to take a swing at other kid's ankles with my crutches; I promised Carlisle I'd behave, which also meant I had to refrain from making a "mooing" noise as we all became back packed together.

And so, this gave Dante time enough to ask the inevitable.

"So, where are you from?"

Oh boy, where to start?

"Depends; how many foster homes do want to count?"

His eyes got huge and I rolled my eyes.

"You're a foster kid? That's . . .that's . . . so . . . cool!"

I raised an eyebrow at him as the herd started to move again.

"You're kidding right? It means no one wants me. I feel like a dog."

"Oh . . ." his tone of voice said it all; he blew and he knew it. "Well . . . I meant . . . I mean . . . Never mind, here's the office."

I looked up and then entered through the doorway. I grumbled as the bell rang and pretended I didn't hear Dante as said a short good bye and scurried off to class. I had to clear my throat once before the lady behind the desk realized I was there. She was grumpy. It was Monday. It was cold. And now she had a new student to contend with. I glanced at her name tag and managed my best smile.

"Hello, ."

She adjusted her glasses, took a good look at me while my ears rang with annoying Monday morning announcements on a sound system that hadn't been changed since who knows when and then shuffled through some papers.

"Ah . . . our new student . . . your name?"

"Brielle August."

"Class?"

"Sophomore."

"Ah here we are . . . middle name Hope?"

"Yep . . ." I said lowly. I wasn't exactly fond of my middle name. It really sort of clashed with everything else when you yelled it; didn't work well for getting in trouble. Not that I got into trouble much . . . anymore.

She handed me some papers and I shifted my bag slightly, flexing my fingers before I took them. The crutches were really starting to hurt my under arms.

"You're first class will be out in the other building, fifth door to your right. The rest are all in this building. Lunch is after 4th. Wednesday's are shortened schedule."

"Great . . ." I muttered, glancing out to where the snow was starting to swirl out the side door. I took a quick look at the schedules, shaking my head at why Wednesday would be so special . . . but I wasn't one to argue with a shortened school day.

"Best get along, Miss. August. Mr. Alsop is rather testy on Mondays." And she returned to her work.

Great. A teacher I could easily make fun of just by his name and he was one that was likely not to take a joke. I was done for.

The halls were clear now, which was rather eerie. Getting a firmer grip on my crutches, I swung around and went disdainfully towards the doors. I knew I should have brought a jacket . . .

I quickly rediscovered my intense dislike for geometry as I stepped into class. I hadn't even looked at my class list to see where I was going. I beady eyed man with a hawk like nose turned to look at me as I stepped through the threshold. So did ten other pairs of eyes . . . except for one. I spied Dante sitting at the far end in the front row.

_You're kidding me . . ._

The bell rang as soon as I handed my class sign-in sheet to Mr. Alsop.

"Hm . . . Miss August, is it?"

I looked up in time to see Dante raise his head and smirk at me. I huffed and waited for Mr. Alsop to finish signing and hand me a book.

"You're late." He concluded, turning his back to me.

"What?"

"You're still standing after the bell has rung." He turned around again, pointing a long ruler at me. "Late!"

"Wait! Hey . . . crutches . . . I was in the office, I'm new! Okay, I just . . ."

"I suggest sitting down, Miss August, before I see you standing again and give you your first noon detention at a new school."

I grumbled and bit my tongue. There was no way this day was going to end well. I turned to face the class. Some whispered behind their hands, others simply stared; one nervous looking geeky boy managed a meek smile. I heard a whistle and looked over at Dante who was patting a chair beside him.

The only available chair left, unless I wanted to sit next to the peppy fake blond in corner who smelled like she walked through a flower field and then showered in hairspray. Grudgingly, I went towards the chair Dante had ready for me. I let my book fall on the desk and dropped my crutches down next to me. I looked up when he took my bag and set it down so I could get in easier.

"Hey, math buddy." He said in quiet, smooth voice.

"Don't get to cozy," I growled, looking him in the eye. Mr. Alsop said something about turning to a page in the book but I was distracted, currently. I pointed meaningfully down at my crutches. "I still have weapons."

Dante chuckled softly.

"So defensive. I was only being a gentleman."

"Yeah." I sighed, leaning back in my desk.

Sadly, I had nothing in response to that.

* * *

Lunch came all too soon. I was starting to get used to the layout of the school already, and I knew where my last two classes would be, having walked past them several times today. I didn't have to much trouble navigating; everyone wanted to rush past me so they could get a look before scurrying off to class. And the best part, Dante and his cocky self hadn't appeared in any of the rest of my classes . . . so far.

I walked into the lunch room, trying to figure out how this system worked. So, like a good sheep, I followed the crowd and soon found myself standing behind some very tall, blond, and bearing a school sweat-shirt with a big Spartan logo on the back. I tried to peek around her to see what was up for lunch today when I heard two, synced voices call out from around me.

"Kirby!"

I jumped and she turned and I fell back against the metal rail, catching myself on one crutch so I was in a rather haphazard position.

"Jesus!" I hissed.

"Not quite," laughed one of the two; blond hair that was cut to a little past her ears.

"How'd you get here so fast?" asked the other; this one had dark brown hair, straight, a ways past her shoulders. "Jeeze the bell just rang."

"Mrs. Keyna likes me." Said the tall one; Kirby. Never heard that name before either. She smiled innocently.

The other blond stuck her tongue out and the brown haired girl turned towards me. I regained my balance and tried to smile.

"Hi! I'm Jennifer! You can call me Jenn; but that's with two 'n's'." she said brightly. "And that's Kim!"

The blond looked at me, smiled widely and waved frantically. I gave a short wave back.

_Weirdo. _

"We're also known as Jim and Kenn!"

"Or," said Jenn. "Kenn and Jim."

"What are you guys?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Twins?"

"Only on Tuesdays!" they said at the same time.

"Okay . . ." I muttered, turning back around to face the other girl. I had to look up to see her.

"I'm Kirby." She said sweetly. "You must Brielle."

"Um . . . yeah, Brie, actually. Word travels fast around here I take it?"

"Yep!" said Kim from my left shoulder.

Jennifer magically appeared at my right. "Get used to it! You're in a place _where everybody knows your name!_"

I glanced around nervously as she started humming the _Cheers_ theme song. Kirby giggled and shook her head.

"You'll be just like them in a few weeks; they are incredibly hyper today."

"Any particular reason?" I asked quietly, scooting closer.

"Biology!" the sang in unison.

I glanced at them offhandedly and nodded. They broke into a giggle fit and I continued to move with the line. After I grabbed whatever the special was (some sort of sloppy-joe . . . thing) and nervously made a salad, avoiding the crowd as much as possible. With today's weather conditions, it didn't look like anyone was too anxious to leave campus for lunch. I looked up when Kirby stepped next to me.

"Hey, do you want to sit with us?"

I hesitated, looking up at her rather dumbly. I hadn't talked to anyone besides Dante all day; I had found him sitting in the corner of the lunch room by himself. I bit my lip and looked around a bit longer and then nodded.

"Sure. Thanks."

"No problem!" she led me over to the table where Kenn and Jim; no! _Kim_ and _Jenn_ (those two were going to give me a headache. . .) sat already, poking at the pile of green beans on their plate. "We take in strays all the time."

They both looked up and smiled. I smirked when she used the term "stray."

"Yeah! She used to be one of them." Jenn said, pointing to Kirby.

"Yes," Kirby said, a grimace on her face as she looked at Kim. "I remember. You got tomato guts all over me."

"Initiation _sucks!_" she said dismissively and then she gasped, pointing at me. "You can't sit there! That's Mariah's chair!"

I froze, which was very hard to do considering I was trying to balance a tray in my hands while on crutches with my bag still strapped to my back, which had gotten steadily heavier throughout the day, considering I hadn't gotten a locker assigned to me yet. I set my tray down and looked into her serious face with confusion. Who was Mariah and would she beat me up if I sat there? Jenn was on her feet quickly, forcing Kim down.

"If she sits there, the whole universe will shift and the natural order of things will CHANGE thus bringing Armageddon onto us all too soon!"

"Yes, almighty profit, the spawn of Satan has finally arrived and sent his adversary to Forks Washington High." Jenn said, shaking her head. "Now sit down, you dork, before you tip your tray over."

"But I don't believe in Satan?"

Jenn sighed.

"Like I said," Kirby mumbled. "You'll get used to it."

Once I was seated, I merely poked at my food while they talked about something that happened in the biology class until someone else sat to my right. She was a darker skinned girl with long dark hair and had a look of irritation.

"Sorry I took so long, I was finishing up a lab."

"Mariah!" squealed Jenn and Kim.

"Posse's all here!" Kirby said, leaning behind me to hug the girl that just arrived.

"Great," I muttered through a nervous laugh.

Mariah turned to me then.

"Oh hey! You must be the new kid."

The new kid . . . yep, that's me. That's what my name is . . .

"Brie," I said. "Is this your spot? I could –"

"Psh no!" she waved a hand. "I don't care where you sit. So where're you from?"

Ugh . . . I hated this question already. I shrugged.

"Depends on how many foster homes you want to count." I mumbled into my tray.

"You're a foster kid? Well, where was your last home?" Jenn asked.

I paused. I didn't really want my whereabouts known to well, at least, not until Carlisle figured out what he was going to do with me. The last thing I wanted was to be found and moved by child services again. Switching homes was hard enough, switching schools just plain sucked.

"Southern California." I said vaguely. "I don't want to talk about it."

Hearing the tone in my voice, they all went into an awkward quite mode for a second and then Kirby gave everyone a sideways glance that I didn't quite understand.

"Hey," she said with a sly grin. "Maybe she'll be adopted by the Cullens."

I nearly choked on my grape.

"What?" I asked through heaving breaths.

"Ooo!" Kim looked up excitedly. "I would be so jealous!"

"Ha yeah . . . if I could be so lucky!" Jenn said. "Who are you staying with anyway? If you say Carlisle Cullen . . ."

I was saved from having to say I was staying with Carlisle and his family when Mariah scoffed and rolled her eyes at them.

"God you guys are pathetic; all their kids are _graduated_ now; _not_ to mention they are all _dating _and one is_ married._"

_Married?_ I wrinkled my nose and hoped she was talking about Carlisle. Thankfully, the action went unnoticed and I jumped as the bell rang.

Without another word about my current foster family, I staggered out of my chair, threw my bag onto my back and grabbed my crutches. I looked up to see Dante smiling from across the room and a glowered at him.

"Hey, I'll grab your tray Brie," one of them offered. I wasn't sure who, but I nodded.

"Thanks," I muttered. "See you guys tomorrow."

And I raced out the door as fast as I could, trying to beat the crowd, which was very hard considering my currant physical status.

* * *

Well, it turned out that the "posse" also had English with me next period. I sat in front of Kirby and with Mariah to left and Jenn to my right, while Kim sat in front of Mariah. The last period I had was Gym which turned out to be rather boring, thanks to my crutches and cast.

A feeling of relief came over me as the last bell of the day rang and I turned in my class sign-in sheet to the office. I waited a while to let the 3:30 rush die and then made my ways to the double doors at the end of the hall. The snow wasn't as bad now, but it was still very cold and coming down in big flakes. I waited, looking for Carlisle's car and I started to grow worried when it didn't appear. Most of the student cars were out of the parking lot. With a sigh, I decided to see if maybe he was around the corner or just a little late; he was a doctor after all. I pushed the doors open, shuddering as the biting wind hit my face. I was not born for this weather at all . . .

I carried my self across the silent walk way, careful of the ice, my stomach dropping as I continued to see no sign of Carlisle. Maybe I could go in and call, if the office was still open. I had been standing at the door a long time . . . with a groan I turned and went against the wind and up to the door – only to find it locked.

"Damn it . . ." I cursed, wanting to stamp my foot.

Then I heard a distinguished "beep" behind me and I turned.

Pulling up beside me was a bright yellow Porsche, very unfamiliar and very, _very_ bright against the snow. I shielded my eyes as the tinted window rolled down on the driver's side.

"_Alice?_" I said. I couldn't believe she had a car like this!

Her laughter rang like little bells and she motioned with her head to get in.

"Come on, you're going to get the flu if you stay out there much longer!"

I went as quickly as I could to the passenger side. I threw my bag and crutches in the back and slid into the seat, the car's warmth spreading over me. Once I was buckled in, Alice turned the car like a pro in the TV commercials and then turned to smile at me while we waited for traffic.

"So how was your first day?"

"Fine." I said a little awkwardly. "I met five . . .new . . people . . . why are we going this way?"

It wasn't hard to notice that we weren't heading towards the Cullen's . . . instead, we were going past the town. I looked behind me.

"Great!" she said, jacking up the speed. I wondered if people always went this fast on icy roads. "And you and I . . . are going to Port Angeles!"

"Port what? Why?" God, I was being kidnapped _again?_

"Port Angeles!" she sang happily. I smiled at her; I couldn't help it. She was so _happy_. "You and I are going on a shopping spree!"


	5. Chapter 5 Chase

**Note: **Thanks for the reviews guys! It REALLY means a lot, I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to respond individually, for some reason it is giving me problems, I'm not sure why. Technology is just evil that way . . . Big update this time, hope you enjoy it.

And something weird's messing with the document manager . . . when I edit, random parts of my text are italicized . . . anyone know why this is or am I just crazy?

Anyway, I don't own Twilight or anything related, just the original characters!

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* * *

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**Five**

_**Chase**_

So apparently when you think you're going shopping with Alice for a few cloths, you should be planning to translate that to a few _hundred. _I had to admit though, her fashion sense was top of the line; I wondered if she had ever considered working for a fashion industry. Heck, she could be a model as far as I was concerned. I could never get my hair to behave the way she had hers . . .

"Here, try this on, with this shirt . . ."

"Alice, I don't think –"

"Too feminine for you? You _do_ seem the more hard edged type . . . how about this?"

I took the black plaid skirt from her and draped it over my arm.

"I was just going to say . . . should we really be trying on these types of cloths? I mean . . . it's . . . November and . . ."

"Exactly! It's November and they are all on clearance. You said earlier you were concerned about me spending so much money on you. So, we are spending less and getting ready for next season!"

I sighed. She seemed pretty certain I would still be with them by next season. I still wasn't pretty sure of anything. I looked at her again to see her staring pitifully at me and a narrowed my eyes.

"One more?" she pleaded. "Come on . . . I think it will look really cute on you . . ."

I eyed our pile "one more's" and "last one! I promise's" and sighed. It was hard to resist the look she gave me though, so I gave in – one last time – and grabbed the top from her and stalked into the fitting rooms. She squealed behind in excitement and clapped her hands. I rolled my eyes and couldn't help but laugh a little.

So easily pleased.

When I emerged again, I took a quick look in the big mirror that was behind me and turned. The skirt flowed with me in a rippling motion, even with the staggering circle I had to take with my crutches. My brown hair flowed down around my shoulders, the tips curling down amongst the folds of the blouse. It's not usually something I would wear – actually, nothing Alice got me was something I'd usually wear. But I couldn't help but smile at the girl in the mirror; I actually thought of myself as . . . pretty. I heard soft giggle behind me and blushed when I saw Alice smirking at my antics.

"You like it." It was a statement, not a question.

"It's nice." I confessed.

"Great!" she was glowing again. "Because I found this other outfit that –"

Her cell phone suddenly started to ring and she frowned.

"Carlisle has such timing . . ."

I sighed in relief and returned to my stall to change back into my other cloths. I picked up on Alice's side of the conversation as well; apparently her pity trips didn't work so well on her foster father.

"One more, Carlisle, please . . . But . . . . fine, I'll get her home right now. YES I mean it. Why would I lie to you?"

I heard her giggle mischievously as I stepped out of my stall, holding the new clothing she had picked out for me.

"Okay Carlisle we're on our way."

She flipped her phone shut with a flourish and put the cloths on her arm on a rack on the far end of the wall, sighing sadly.

"Such a waste . . ." she muttered. "Oh well, it's getting late anyway. You're probably hungry?"

I wasn't really but I nodded anyway. She took the last outfit from me happily, adding it too our "to be bought" pile.

"That's a lot of cloths, Alice, are you sure about this?"

She picked them all up and rolled her eyes at me as though shopping for this much stuff was the most casual thing in the world to her.

"Of course! You're going to be staying with us right? And it's not like you had anything of your own so . . ." I must have still looked hesitant because she set the cloths back down and wrapped me in a hug. "C'mon Brie. I really don't mind! You seem so sad all the time. Relax; we all love having you in our home."

I stiffened at first. I wasn't exactly used to being hugged. Maria hugged me, in an offhanded sort of way. But Alice's hug was more . . . intimate, like the way you would hug a best friend or (dare I say it?) a sister. I had only known her for a little over a few days, and most of those days I was sleeping pain away. For one mere moment I felt bare and naked to the world and then slowly I relaxed, her cool body pressed against mine, my worries melting away. I suddenly realized how tired I was and how safe I felt in her embrace. Closing my eyes, I hugged back, resting my chin on her shoulder.

"Thanks, Alice."

We pulled apart and she was smiling again, her feathery black hair framing her face. I smiled back. It felt good to have . . . to have . . . an Alice.

"No problem." She said, turning on her heel in a fluid motion. The way she walked sometimes made me wonder if she was a dancer, she never seemed to miss a step. "Now what do you say we put this shopping trip on hold?"

I laughed. "How long _are_ your shopping trips?"

"Oh, a lifetime or two!" she chirped.

I shook my head, feeling much better. "I'm frightened already . . ."

After we got checked out by a nervous teenage clerk who seemed stunned into silence at our pile of cloths, Alice surprised me again by easily carrying all the bags. I could have at least carried one but she insisted and glared at me rather evilly when she did. For someone so pixie like in nature, she sure had muscle mass . . . I guess shopping really was a sport.

We were on our way out of the mall when I suddenly stopped, eyeing the store to the right of us. Alice stopped next to me.

"Do you want to go in there?"

I hesitated before answering.

It was one of those new age stores, with crystal globes, meditation music, fountains, and incense. Lavender was wafting out of the doorway and harp music was strumming the sound of a soothing melody, a soft rain fall sound providing back up. There was a young guy behind the counter, writing in a notebook, seemingly out of place in his punk style clothing.

"I think so," I said a little distractedly.

"Great!" she said, skipping ahead of me. "Let's check it out then!"

I followed her in a little awkwardly. Once I was over the threshold, the guy behind the counter looked up, staring at me blandly for a moment and then his eyes narrowed into curiosity. I raised an eyebrow at him and he sneered.

_Yeah, I don't like you either,_ I wanted to say.

But I abandoned the matter and followed Alice, slipping between close, packed shelves. I looked towards the far wall, towards what had originally caught my attention; an entire section dedicated to nightlights. I really didn't want to ask Alice for money again, but after what had happened in my room that night, or morning rather, the nightlights seemed like an inviting idea. I looked over at Alice who had picked up some pretty little bauble and carefully turned the music box on at the bottom. While she was busy, I carried myself over to the wall, studying the ones at eye level.

They were all beautiful, hand painted in a variety of colors. I position my crutch so I could reach out and touch one; it was painted in earth tones with little white stars that had wholes in the center where the light seeped through. The surface was as smooth as glass and where my fingers were, a trail of red followed, fading once my fingers were removed. It must have been heat sensitive.

"Pretty, isn't it?" said a voice next to me.

I looked up to see a middle aged woman smiling down at me, long, wispy hair hung around her shoulders. She smiled and the corners of her gray eyes crinkled. I took a step back, eyeing her cautiously.

"It is." I said. "Do you make them?"

She shook her head and nodded to the punk kid at the counter.

"My son does. Vincenzo is a masterful painter, just like his father. I just buy the glass for them."

Vincenzo. God. I had wrecked into the world's biggest population of weird names. I had at least heard of Dante. Vincenzo was new to me. I looked up to find him staring at me and noticed he wasn't glaring anymore. He seemed interested. I turned my attention back to the light and touched it again. A small, red dot appeared where my finger had been.

"Shall I box it up for you?" she asked again.

I bit my lip and avoided looking at Alice.

"I don't . . . exactly . . ."

"Do you want it, Brie? It really isn't a big deal."

The woman looked taken aback when Alice skipped to my side, bags of clothing in her hands with her purse thrown over her shoulder. I looked up to see Vincenzo glaring again. I glared back at him, feeling defensive; if he had problem with Alice, he had problem with me.

"Oh . . . it has a crack!" I looked back at the woman as she ran her finger down the back of it. She pulled it out to show it to me; it was very minor, easily mistaken for a scratch I thought, but apparently it aggravated her. "I'll tell you what – if you still want it, I'll give it to you free of charge."

"Mother!" her son hissed from behind her, rising up from the counter. She put a hand up and he lowered himself with a grumble.

"Um . . . sure." I said, a little awkwardly. With a flourish, she turned and went into a back room. I shrugged my shoulders at Alice who was giving me an odd look and then gimped to the front counter.

The woman came back out and handed it to her son, looking at him sternly before returning to the back. He heaved a sigh and tucked his notebook under the counter, punching in numbers into the cash register. This close I could see his nose ring (which grossed me out) and the protruding bulb that hung from his lip. I never understood facial piercing, but I guess it was to each his own.

"Anything else . . . ladies?" he said the last word with a sneer, his dark eyes narrowed towards Alice. She didn't even flinch as she set a silver necklace on the counter.

She beamed sweetly at him and he turned away uninterestedly, his black hair, tipped with pink and yellow, falling into one side of his face. The total came to an even $25.00, which Alice paid for without hesitation. When he handed me my bag, he nodded with a dim smile. He didn't bother handing Alice hers before he left his post to head into the back, but Alice didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

"People can be so rude," I muttered, glancing over my shoulder as we exited into the parking lot.

She shrugged nonchalantly, gracefully carrying all the bags with her and still managing to walk right side up (except for my little night light, which I insisted to carry).

"It's Monday, he's a teenager, he probably just doesn't want to be working."

I grumbled but got in the passenger seat quietly as Alice got in the other side. Now without my crutches, I was able to handle the package easier, weighing it in my hands, fingering the box fondly. I looked up to see that Alice was watching me.

"Is it okay that I got this? I didn't even ask . . ."

"Yes its okay!" she shook her head, giggling slightly. "Anything you need, don't hesitate."

I looked down in my lap again and took in a deep sigh.

"Alice can I tell you something?"

"Yes . . ."

"It's kind of embarrassing." What was I doing? I sighed. "I don't mind if you tell Jasper, but no one else."

"Well that sounds serious. Is everything okay?" then she glanced at me sharply. "Did someone say something to you in school?"

I groaned.

"No," I muttered. "Alice, there's a reason . . . I wanted a nightlight."

"Oh . . .?" she said slowly.

"That night that I . . . fell . . ."

"Do you not see well in the dark?"

"No . . . I'm afraid of it."

The car slowed some, or maybe it was just me. I looked up to examine her face which seemed to become oddly tense. She looked confused and yet sympathetic. I suddenly felt childish and glanced out the window. A long moment lapsed between us, which was only broken when I felt her cool fingers touch my hand.

"Why do you fear it?" she asked it as though I had just admitted I was afraid of being loved. I gnawed on my lip nervously and shrugged, though I'm sure she didn't see it. I guess she liked the darkness. "Brielle, if there's something you need to share with us, we won't judge you."

I rolled my eyes. She used my full name; she was treating this like a big deal. I guess because she could sense it _was_ a big deal to me.

"Sometimes . . . sometimes I _think_ I see things, in the dark." I hesitated and clenched my fist, already guessing her thoughts. "I feel like sometimes . . . they're always waiting for me, that they touch my ankles when I sleep . . ."

"So you're not necessarily afraid of the dark, but more . . . afraid of what's in it?"

I looked up to see her peering at me, her eyes suddenly incredibly intense. I swallowed.

"I guess."

She nodded. It was quiet again, save for the soft purr of the Porsche as we sped down the empty . . . dark . . . road. I refocused on my lap.

"Do you know why your hair changes color?"

_Nice change of subject . . ._

"No." I said evenly, as though it weren't the weirdest thing in the world. "It's done it ever since I was young. Same color, though . . . never quite so suddenly. It's the reason I got kicked out of one my other homes. The father thought I was being rebellious and dyed my hair without his consent when I wasn't able to change it back quickly enough . . ."

"So you do have some control over it?"

"Only a little," I confessed. "I can usually feel it when it's about to change and if I try hard enough I can . . . um . . . _will_ it, to change back I guess. But it doesn't always work."

"Oh . . ."

"Who's Bella?" I blurted out.

The question had stayed in the back of my mind ever since Rosalie had mentioned the name. I didn't want to talk about my hair, I didn't want to talk about how different or weird or unique I was. Alice seemed to hesitate.

"Bella . . ." she seemed to be trying to find the right words, which was odd, because Alice always seemed to be on top of everything, always one step ahead. "Bella's new to our family."

"But Carlisle said . . ."

"She isn't adopted." She said softly. I looked over; she had a slight smile to her lips. "You remember Edward, the one that was sitting next to Jasper the other night.? Well . . . she's his . . . wife."

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. His _wife?_ But he couldn't be older then eighteen!

"Look, before you ask much more, I think there's some things you need to know about us, Brie." I nodded silently, waiting for other surprises. She took a deep breath and moved a stray hair from her eyes. "All of us . . . Carlisle's children, that is . . . well, we are _all_ together. It's not really a fact known to the community, but each time Carlisle . . . adopted . . . another one of us, aside from Edward, we fell in love with the other. I mean, we aren't really related, you know, and . . . Carlisle didn't let us get married until after we were all eighteen . . ."

Okay this was _officially_ the strangest foster family I had ever been apart of . . .

"So . . . so . . ." I stuttered. "They let you do that? I mean . . . it's just that it's . . . and you all live together! So . . . who are you . . . I mean . . .?"

Alice gave a half laugh and shook her head.

"I know, it's a little strange, Brie. But after living the foster life, as you well know, it's nice to finally find that one special home . . . and person." Yeah, I guess I could relate to that, sort of. "And well, obviously there's Edward and Bella. And then, well, Jasper and I are married, which leaves Rosalie and Emmett. And that's all of us. . . Well, mostly. Then there's Renesemee, Nessie for short and she's . . . well . . . um . . . the product of Bella and Edward's relationship during High School . . ."

"Wow . . . so you have a child living with you too?" Rosalie did say something about a child, now that I remembered.

"Um . . . yes! And she's rather small for her age, but she's really smart." She laughed. "So be warned, she's a charmer. Bella and Edward have a small home near us though, so we aren't subjected to her magic as much as we may like."

I smirked, a little queasy; I usually felt like this after delving into someone else's personal life. I guess I couldn't really say much though; it wasn't like I was exactly the most normal person on the planet.

The rest of the ride home, Alice told me Bella's story, about how Edward, the youngest of them all, had found her when she first moved to Forks from Arizona. They had had a series of ups and downs, but eventually, after much help from Alice apparently, they discovered their love for each other was long lasting and unbreakable and everything else you see in the movies. Especially with Renesmee in the picture, both were willing to wed, and now both had a place of their own.

It seemed weird, but I took it for all it was worth.

When we pulled up to the Cullen house, there were a few more vehicles than normal parked outside. Alice pulled into the garage, rubbing her head.

"Oh . . . I feel a headache coming on . . ."

Jasper met us as we opened the car door. I propped myself up on my crutches, offering him a kind smile that he returned, though I couldn't but feel funny when I looked at the two of them, knowing that they were a couple. Jasper helped unpack all the bags, apparently used to all of Alice's shopping experiences and together we entered the house.

Several eyes met me the instant I walked into the door, still clutching my bag that had the nightlight in it. First I spied a small girl, standing between the legs of a dark haired, brown eyed young woman. I could only assume that that was Bella and her daughter . . . Nessie. Bella smiled, pulling the small child closer. When the child reached her hand to her mother's cheek, Bella grinned, nodded and kissed her tiny hand. The others in the room were three, large, muscular, darker skinned men; I knew they were native, coming from being next to several other reservations, and I wondered what tribe they were from. The biggest one was talking to Carlisle, mentioning something about a new member. The other two were sitting on the couch.

"Oh hey! You're that girl we saved from the wreck!" One said, jumping up from his seat. "Hey Jake! Look, it's . . . what's her name? Brie? Look!"

The one speaking to Carlisle turned sharply, casting an irritated look at the other before looking at me. He smiled and crossed his arms over a broad chest.

"You came out looking better than I thought you would. Seth and I thought you were worm food."

"Ew, Jake! Really? She just met you!"

The one called Seth approached me and introduced himself. I smiled and meekly returned the needless introduction as Jake smirked from behind. I gave him a sharp look, wondering what his problem was.

"Oh don't mind Jake!" Seth said excitedly. "He's just feeling really cocky tonight; someone new just moved onto the Quileute rez. Hey Chase! Come here, meet Brie!"

I looked over his shoulder to see a wide eyed looking Quileute looking at me. He looked younger than the other two, but still broad and strong. He smiled shyly at me and stood up, long black hair falling over his shoulders. His face was sharp featured, eyes a startling brown that stood out with the amber color that lined them. I felt something twist in my stomach as he smiled at me and inwardly cursed when I felt my cheeks grow hot. He looked at Seth and then at me . . . or rather he looked down. He was really tall . . . taller than Dante . . . and Kirby.

"Hi," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets._ "_Name's Chase Sage. We actually moved back to the reservation . . . I was born there, but raised in Montana."

"Oh." I said stupidly. His voice was deep and had a kind of ring to it . . . the kind that held my attention. After I realized I had been staring for a moment, I cleared my throat nervously and smiled again, shifting awkwardly on my crutches. "Um, nice to meet you."

"Yeah," he said. "Nice to meet you too."

Seth had bounded up to Jake again, joining in on the conversation, leaving me alone with Chase. Silently he nodded to the couch; yes, the disabled one wasn't too keen on standing up right now. Bella stood as we approached, Nessie peering behind her leg. She had a fire in her eyes; she looked eager. She was beautiful, as all of the Cullen's were, but she was a simple beauty, like she didn't need make up or anything to make her attractive at all.

"You must be Bella." I said awkwardly.

"Yes!" she said with a dazzling smile. "Fairly new to the Cullen family . . ."

"Alice . . . told me." I muttered. I didn't know how she felt about what she and Edward had done and I didn't want to say anything offensive.

She looked slightly surprised.

"Oh . . . did she?" she smiled and gave me a half hug, careful not to put much weight on me. "Well, she can get inventive, I hope she didn't scare you off!"

I laughed. "Of course not."

Inventive . . .?

"Bella, Nessie!"

We both looked up across the room where Edward stood at the door, his eyes sharp, his face unsmiling.

"Are you ready to turn in for the night?"

"We'll be right there." Bella said, turning to her daughter. "Go say goodnight to Grandma Esme, okay sweetie?"

" 'kay Mama!" said the little girl. I smiled as she bounced off.

Bella smiled fondly and then turned to me. "I hope you stay. Carlisle's so kind, and so is Esme."

"As I've heard." I muttered.

"They helped me, through a lot of tough times." She said, her face growing serious. "They are some of the best people I know, and I feel lucky to call them family. Carlisle told me about you, about what you've been through; this could be your last stop. You could have a home here."

"I . . ."

"Just think about it." She said, turning with a grin. "For the record, I wouldn't mind having another sister."

She left with Edward after that, leaving me speechless. Thankfully I was saved with trying to sort through it when I felt a warm hand touch my shoulder. I turned and saw Chase smiling at me.

"You look kind of tired." He said.

I swallowed hard and sat down. "Yeah, I guess that's what I get for shopping with Alice."

He chuckled, low and deep; it somehow seemed to fit him so well, even though he still had a youthful look to his face. The hair on my arm stood on end when he sat down next to me . . . he was really warm which, after being out the November air, felt really good.

"What do you have there?"

He was pointing to my sack I still had clutched in my hand. Slowly I opened it and handed him the box. He carefully opened it and pulled the nightlight out, admiring it for a second.

"It has a crack in it but . . ." I went to touch the area that the crack had been . . . only to find it gone. I drew back slowly. "I guess . . . I guess it doesn't. Ha . . . Never mind then."

The surface was flawless now, and I knew for a fact it hadn't been before. I had gotten it for free, the lady had seen it, Alice had seen it . . .

"It's pretty." Chase said slowly, holding it up to the light. "Hand painted things always are."

He admired it for a moment more and then returned it to the box. He looked at me inquisitively and then something came over his face, making his eyes seemingly light up. He cast a quick glance at Jacob but he was still talking with Carlisle. Chase started to look . . . worried.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" he quickly assured me, shifting. He seemed uncomfortable now and I wondered if I had done something wrong. Maybe he just remembered something he needed to tell Jake. "Yeah . . . I was . . . uh . . ."

"Alright Chase! Let's go, I promised your grandmother I'd have you home five minutes ago." Chase was instantly on his feet as though Jacob had just issued an order to a soldier, Seth ready and attentive at his side. "And I've already been attacked her frying pan once today, I don't care to experience it again."

Seth burst out laughing. "You should have seen it Carlisle! This woman's only 4 foot something and –"

"Shut up, Seth." Jacob grumbled, heading towards the door. "Night Cullens', nice seeing you Brie."

Esme gave them all a hug while the rest nodded and said goodnight. Chase glanced down at me and I found myself disobeying Carlisle all of a sudden and stumbled up without my crutches. I swayed a little and Chase caught me by my shoulder.

"Easy there,"

"Yeah that was dumb . . ." I muttered, wincing a little. "Um, good night, I guess. It's good to know I'm not the only newbie around here."

He laughed a little. "Yeah it is. Well . . . Good night, Brie. Hope to see more of you."

"Maybe I'll see you some other time?"

He turned back around with a hesitant look to his eyes and then he smiled.

"Yeah, I think you will."

I quietly sat down again, watching as the three of them left. Rosalie spared me half a glance before going down the hall and Alice remerged with Jasper close at her heel. Esme beamed at me.

"Are you hungry, Brie?" she asked.

"I guess." I said a little absently.

"How was first day at Forks High?" Carlisle inquired.

"She likes him."

"Alice!" Esme hissed.

Alice's "malicious" tone caught me off guard and I looked up to see her leaning against a wall, her gaze narrowed toward me with a sly grin on her face. I looked down at my lap and felt my cheeks grow hot and had a sudden desire to hide in my room.

"This is going to fun . . ." I heard her giggle.

"Yeah . . . well . . ." I said, smiling a little. "Payback sucks."

I heard Emmett laugh and much to my surprise he said the following:

"My bet's on Brie!"


	6. Chapter 6 Dante

**Note: **Keep the reviews coming! I love to hear from my readers, you guys seriously make it worth while, not the writing isn't fun already! :) Thank you for the comments I've gotten, I love reading them and everyone's ideas of what might happen.

As usual, I don't own Twilight or anything Twilight related. Just Brie and company!

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**Six**

_**Dante**_

_It was the man in the pinstripe this time, whose silvery hair, tinted blue in the sunlight clashed horribly with the faded yellow striping. He smiled at me, crossing his arms over his broad chest in a way that reminded me of Jacob, which in turn, reminded me of Chase. _

"_Don't get attached." _

_Suddenly his eyes grew bright, like the other woman's had, but they didn't fade to black. Instead, they seemed to softly shimmer, light silver in color. His hair reminded me of the silky hair from the elves off of the _Lord of the Rings_ movies. He came towards me and I realized I was standing without my cast on, my leg perfectly healed. I took a step and the room seemed to light up around me. The man laughed and then turned serious._

"_As I said. Do not get attached." He bowed, taking a step back. "Hope belongs to no one which means, as sad as it is, Hope cannot love one more than the other."_

"_What does that even mean?" I asked. Again, my mouth didn't move, but my voice simply echoed. _

"_Come find us, Brielle." He said, turning. On the back of his neck was an iridescent tattoo that I couldn't make out. "We cannot find you." _

I woke up. The clock, softly illuminated on the wall by my new nightlight said 11:50. For the first time in a long time, the darkness wasn't bringing me that familiar choking fear like it usually did.

With a grumble, I rolled over and went back to sleep.

* * *

I hated medical tables. They made me feel . . . vulnerable. But Carlisle was certainly insistent that he check my leg to make sure it was healing properly. Now with the cast gone, I took the time to scratch at my irritated skin. Granted, the smell once the cast was removed wasn't the most pleasant thing in the world but it felt really good to have it off. He checked out my leg for the moment and I was surprised to find that his touch didn't hurt like I thought it might.

"Brielle," he said after a few moments. "Move your leg for me . . . just back and forth. Push it against my hand."

He kept his hands on my leg and I swung it casually. His eyebrows furrowed and he had me stop. He pressed around a little more and then stood back with a sigh.

"I want to try something . . . but you need to promise you'll stop if something hurts."

"Um . . . alright."

"Try standing up."

"But . . ."

"Try."

I shrugged my shoulders. Fine. He was the doctor. If this screwed my leg up more, it would be his fault. It wasn't like I was paying for anything anyway.

Slowly, I pushed myself to the edge of the table, reaching my good leg out first, and then tentatively stepping out on my other foot. A shiver spread up through my toes as my skin came in contact with the cold tile . . . but that was it. Nothing else hurt, my leg felt completely normal. I started to walk forward when he stopped me.

"Don't, it could still be broken."

I sighed and stood still as he concluded to run another X-ray.

"It just doesn't make any sense," he muttered later, looking at my leg on the light up board. "You at _least_ had a couple more weeks to go, I was sure of it. By the looks of the X-ray, it's as though it were never even broken. I was even thinking you might need another month before . . ."

"This doesn't mean I have to make decision sooner, does it?" I asked in a rush.

He turned back to me, confused at first and then his eyes softened. He smiled.

"Of course not. I promised you three weeks; and that's what you get."

I nodded and pushed myself down from the table. He continued to look at my leg uncertainly but didn't say anything as I slowly walked from one end of the room to the other. It felt completely fine, as he had said, as though he had never even been broken. My leg wasn't even stiff from behing held straight for so long.

"I feel fine." I said stubbornly.

"Maybe you should wear a brace just in case . . ."

I sighed. "Ah, c'mon Carlisle . . . don't make me pull a puppy dog face."

"It doesn't work for Alice, it wont work for you." He laughed. "Now you stay here and I'll be back. Let's just try it for one day and see how it goes, alright?"

I sighed and jumped back up on the table. "Fine."

* * *

The brace came off as soon as I got to school. Carlisle was so kind as to squeeze me really early that morning so I didn't miss any class . . . lucky me.

I was stuffing the brace in my locker when a hand thudded into the locker to my right. I jumped and glanced around to see Dante smirking at me.

"Did I scare you?" he asked smoothly. "Hmm . . . no crutches today, lucky you!"

I blinked up at him and scowled. I slammed my locker and slung my book bag on my back and looked around for the posse that had befriended me earlier this week, feeling my stomach drop when they weren't in their usual spot by the heater.

"Jennifer agreed to some duo singing gig with Mariah; they're practicing. Kimberly is an artist who is going in for some extra support this morning. Kirby has gone off on a volleyball game today." He ran a finger along my jaw line. "I've got you all to myself."

His cold touched drew a sneer from my lips and my mind flicked into defense mode. A second before I struck, he realized it had been a wrong move and his eyes grew wide.

"No! Don-!"

_SMACK!_

"You have _officially_ surpassed creepy and are edging on stalker, you realize that?" I hissed, my hand still clenched.

He didn't respond for a moment, rubbing the side of his face where I had struck him. His bright eyes regarded me almost fearfully as other students slowed, mostly girls, staring at me as if in awe. In a huff, I turned on my heel, tossing my hair for good show.

"Woah, hey wait!" I heard him call out halfway down the hall. I stopped just to humor him. "What was _that_ . . . you're malicious!"

I turned and crossed my arms, giving him a raised eyebrow.

"I don't play well with jocks." I prodded a finger into his chest. "And if you ever touch me like that again, I'll castrate you."

He took a step back and I smiled.

I couldn't understand it; Dante just made me hate him. The sad part about it, he was a good looking guy and part of me really . . . really . . . liked that. I couldn't understand it, how the two contradicted each other. Even his cologne was attractive, though I couldn't quite place what scent it might be. It bothered me to even feel this way in the slightest way. It made me angry.

"Fine," he said, more subdued. I saw his jaw was clenched, but his eyes still glinted. "I'm sorry I offended you."

"Good." I muttered, satisfied. I even got an apology without asking – I guess I scared him. I started heading towards Mr. Alsop's class, beings I had nothing better to do.

"Math this early in the morning?" Dante was in front of me again, blocking my path to the doors. I glared. "C'mon! We've got at least a good ten minutes before we have to sit through that torture chamber."

"_We_ are not doing anything. _You_ are going to shove off and _I_ am going to –"

"So what were you doing coming out of Dr. Cullen's car this morning?" he interjected, smiling wickedly.

He succeeded; he caught me way off guard.

"What?"

"You're another foster child of the _Cullen's,_ aren't you?" he grinned, pressing closer. I stepped back. "I had a sneaking suspicion you might be. Hm . . . imagine how jealous your friends will be?"

"What? No! I'm . . . well . . . I mean . . ." I clenched my jaw furiously as I felt myself step back against a row of lockers.

He placed his hands a few inches away on either side of me, looking down with his piercing gazing. He seemed almost predator like, the way he was looking at me. I felt my hands grow warm and sweaty as I touched the cool surface of the lockers behind me.

"You're beautiful . . . when you're angry." He laughed, backing up.

"Listen." I growled lowly, lashing up to grab his shirt collar and pull him down to eye level. "If you say one word of me staying with the Cullen's, I swear you'll pay for it . . ."

"Why? Are you embarrassed about staying with them? I hear the men are eye candy."

"Oh so you just want me to try and hook you up with one of the guys?" He shut up with a sneer and I let go of his shirt, placing my hands on me hips. "For your ears _only_, nothing's official yet so hush up about it."

"Hey Brie!"

I turned to see Kim calling out to me. I sighed in relief. She had a large art portfolio slung over one shoulder, walking ahead of Mariah and Jenn who had been talking but were now looking at me oddly. Mariah turned excitedly then, pointing at me . . . and Dante. Jenn had a glint in her eyes that looked distantly similar to Alice's.

_Ah hell . . ._ I thought. I could see where this was heading already.

"Go join your friends." Dante said pleasantly, backing away. "I'll see you in math."

I rolled my eyes when his back was turned. I was right; he really was too full of himself.

"Oh. My. God." I bit my lip and directed attention to the floor as I heard Jennifer's excited voice suddenly burst my eardrum. "Were you just talking to Dante Aurelius?"

"Um . . ."

Kim and Jenn squealed together as Mariah stood looking at me jealously.

"Kirby is going to flip when she finds out . . ." she said. "What did he say? Are you two . . ."

"We are _nothing._" I said crossly.

"Oh look your cast is off . . ." Kim said and then she changed her direction. "You do realize he doesn't talk to just _anyone?_ Actually . . . I think you're the first person I've seen him ever talk to willingly."

"You are so lucky!" squealed Jenn again. "Oh my God his hair . . . his eyes . . . he's so hot!"

"He's an ass." I muttered.

"Yes, he's got a hot one of those too . . ." said Mariah offhandedly. The rest of them giggled.

"Alright . . ." Kim finally said. "We won't tease you about."

"But we're still insanely jealous." Said Jenn.

"God he's like the only hot guy in school and he's so . . ." Mariah sighed defeated. "Untouchable. It's not fair."

"So what do you guys talk about?" Kim inquired excitedly.

The others gathered around to listen and I groaned.

"Nothing worth my while."

I had been around the four of them long enough to know the way their minds worked. They were an entertaining bunch, I'd have to give them that. Especially when Mariah the atheist and Jennifer the Catholic got into religious arguments while Kirby and Kim, both neither Christian nor atheist, took bets on when food would fly. Jennifer usually struck with peas. But when guys were the subject . . . oh boy, if it wasn't the gutter it was the typical gossip. Or jokes, depending on the day and what food had been consumed.

"Come on, you have to _at least_ admit he's really good looking."

"Whatever," I said, not wanting to admit that some part of me did like him.

Mariah smiled knowingly at me and as soon as the bell rang, I dashed away before anyone else could say anything to get me in more trouble.

* * *

At lunch I played with my colorful assortment of fruit I had piled on my plate. I wasn't up for the leftover cheese pizza they had available and so went for the next best option.

"They got cats in today!" Jennifer was saying. "The senior class is going to start dissecting them next week!"

"You're sick." Kim said, putting her fork down. "We're trying to eat here."

"I don't really care. Its biology, it's not like they killed the cats." Mariah spoke up.

"No but it's still sad . . . and rather unpleasant to talk about during lunch." She tossed her milk to Jennifer; I just realized today that she wasn't lactose intolerant like I had thought. She just didn't like milk, of any kind. "Besides, you don't count Mariah. You're a pessimist."

"I like cats!" she said defensively.

I vaguely heard the rest of the conversation, picking at my food, not tasting anything.

How had Dante known I was staying with the Cullen family? So he had seen me come out of Carlisle's vehicle . . . no one else had ever seemed to noticed, it was such a fast, discreet thing, even Carlisle didn't want to bring to much attention to the fact that I was living with them yet. It left a heavy weight in my stomach and I couldn't really say why it bothered me so much.

I risked a quick glance up into his regular corner where he sat, his food untouched, his steely gaze directed at me. Except this time, I didn't look away. He smiled crookedly, the only imperfection on his face and it only made him look better. My hands gripped my pant legs. I stared at him hard and stuck a fork his mouth, gnawing on the ends. I rolled my eyes and directed my attention once more at the fruit on my plate.

I didn't know how to feel about him. The other girls seemed to really like him, but they hadn't talked to him by the sounds of it. Mariah had described him as untouchable . . . what kept them from talking to him? They weren't exactly the shy type. Maybe it was more that he avoided them.

"Earth to Brie!"

I jolted back as someone shoved a fork in my line of vision and looked up to see the three of them grinning at me.

"Did you hear us, or is your mind still on that luscious fruit salad you've created there?" Kim asked dramatically.

I blushed. "No . . . sorry . . . I guess I was off elsewhere . . . what was the question?"

"La Push?" Mariah asked, as if I should know what meant.

I blinked at her and looked at Jenn.

"The La Push beach . . . _Quileute_ rez. We go there every once and while to hang out, we got some friends on the reservation to. The water's really cold, especially this time of year, but its fun to walk the beach." Jenn explained.

"It's nice to make a fire too," Kim added. "And have s'mores and stuff."

"Good way to kill a Saturday." Mariah agreed. "Wanna come?"

"Um . . . I guess . . . I'll have to ask though." I stuck a grape in my mouth. I had no idea where that was and usually if there was a campfire, that meant there was darkness. I felt safer spending the weekend with Rosalie if I had to.

"Oh! She should ask Dante!" Jenn said suddenly.

_Great . . . yes . . . . that's exactly what I want to do . . ._

"Do you think he would come?" Mariah asked, suddenly very interested in my coming with them.

"Maybe if she was with us . . ." Kim mentioned excitedly.

They all looked at me pleadingly.

"Oh come on, guys! Really?" I sighed, giving my best disgusted look ever.

"You can't deny it, he likes you." Mariah said. "Why else would he single you out?"

Then I had an idea. He was rising from his corner table to throw away his uneaten food and I rose too.

"You're right," I said, to all their surprise. "Let's ask him. I'll corner him, you three follow through, 'kay?"

I was starting to feel giddy. He would _hate_ this.

"Oh Jenn!" Kim suddenly jumped up in excitement. "Dare for you!"

Oh _God_ what had I started . . .?

I smiled awkwardly as Jennifer leaned over to let her Tuesday twin to let her whisper something in her ear. I had no idea what they were scheming but I guess I would find out. Right now, I had one primary goal. . .

I left them, dumped my tray, and speed walked out of the cafeteria, dodging a few other students that had decided to leave lunch early. I saw Dante up ahead and readied myself to use some feminine charm. I wasn't sure how good I was at this, but it was worth a shot, I figured.

"Dante!" I called.

I few startled heads turned my direction, and one of them was his. He looked genuinely surprised. I smiled and caught up with him.

"Brielle . . .what - ?"

"I wanted to ask you something . . ." I hedged, giving the others time to catch up.

He smiled coolly, his bright, golden eyes glinting.

"And that would be?"

I cocked my head to the side, letting a thick, twisted strand of hair to fall into my face. Twisting my fingers behind me, in a nervous fashion, I leaned forward, making him back up a step. I batted my eyelashes for good measure.

"I was . . . wondering . . ." I put hesitation in my voice, just because it seemed to work for the girls on TV. "If you were busy this Saturday?"

He gave me another crooked smile and my own lips twitched in a real grin, but I kept my head clear.

"Why, what's happening this Saturday?"

I turned my head to the other side, stepping up closer, standing on tip toe, and looking him in the eye.

"La Push." I said simply. He was from around here; he should know what that meant right? "I was wondering if . . . you, uh . . . wanted to join me there?"

"So let me get this straight . . . first you slap me, then you ask me on a date?"

"Mhmm . . ." I responded, looking up from under my eyelashes. God this was sickening. Where were they? "What can I say? I get . . . nervous around you."

"Typical reaction." He said, grinning widely now. "And who, might I ask, will be there?"

Thankfully I was saved from having to answer that question. Jenn and Kim came flying out of nowhere and I stepped back to avoid being mauled as Jennifer jumped in front of him, exclaiming very loudly:

"YOU'RE UGLY!"

Mariah soon joined them, lightly hitting the back of her head as Jenn and Kim exchanged high fives and then began apologizing to him quickly, their words coming faster than the speed of light. I laughed behind my hand at his startled look as Mariah tried to talk over them, asking him if he was going to join them all as my date. The bell rang, and they still had him cornered. Hefting my bag on my shoulders, I turned to go with the crowd when I heard him call out to me.

"Brie, you are the _snake_ that Saint Patrick missed!"

I responded with a chuckle and a flip of my hair as I walked with the afternoon rush of the crowds, leaving him alone with the posse.

Well, one thing was for sure – he did know how to come up with some good sayings.

* * *

I had gotten used to waiting inside until the student parking lot had cleared until someone showed up for me. Alice usually picked me up because Carlisle had to work at the hospital until later, so I wasn't surprised to find the yellow Porsche waiting for me after I strapped my brace back on and gimped out into the parking lot. When I got in however, Alice wasn't there; it was Jasper.

"Oh . . . hey." I said, smiling.

He looked nervous. He looked nervous a lot, especially when alone.

"Alice couldn't come today." He said before I could ask the question. "Esme, Rose and her all went out to Port Angeles to meet with a one of Esme's relatives."

"Oh, I see," I said. "Well that's alright. So I'm just stuck with guys tonight, I guess?"

He chuckled a little as he pulled out onto the road. "Yes, it's looking that way. Don't worry, Emmett's under strict orders not to maul or tackle or cause you any further physical damage."

"Ha! I could take him."

Jasper gave me a sideways glance and a worried smile.

"Is that so?"

"Yep!" I said, smiling proudly as I remembered my moment with Dante today. "Actually took care of one big ego today already – he'll think twice about his antics again, that's for sure."

Jasper's face changed and for a second I was worried I said the wrong thing.

"Are you getting harassed at school, Brielle?"

The sudden change to becoming all "big brother" surprised me a little and a bit my lip before responding.

"Nothing . . . major. It's not like . . ."

"Sorry," he said, gripping the steering wheel. "I have this . . . thing with "men" today. Even in my class I couldn't stand to watch how they treated the girls. It's gross."

Wow. A real gentleman. I took a closer look and shrugged it off, smiling a little while giving him a nudge.

"Thanks for the concern," I said. "Alice is really lucky to have you."

He smiled fondly when I said her name and shook his head. "No. I'm really lucky to have her."

It was a real romance they had; even the normal overused cheesy stuff just seemed to work for Jasper and Alice. It was simple, sweet and pure.

"But like I was saying." Said Jasper. "If you have . . . trouble . . . let us know. At least Carlisle, or tell someone at the school."

"It's not really physical harassment," I admitted. "He's just annoying."

"Well if he get's too annoying, let us know." He winked at me. "Emmett and I are known to impose fear on those that annoy our family."

_Our family . . ._

I wasn't sure if he even realized what he said but I discovered I lost my tongue. Everyone seemed so sure I would stay . . . and though I thought I might – I mean, the only one that openly disliked me was Rosalie – there was still that little bit in me that wanted to run. _Stray . . ._ it said _. . . A stray is all that you are . . ._

When we arrived to the Cullen house, Emmett bounded out the door, displeased to see the pizza boxes in our hands.

"I told you I was cooking!" he grumbled.

Jasper smirked. "Exactly why I bought the pizzas. I'd rather Carlisle not have to have save Brie from food poisoning."

Jasper took the box I carried and lead the way into the house. Emmett grabbed me from behind and knuckled my head, holding me in a head lock.

"So how's my future little sister?"

I yelped and then began to laugh as he pinned me down and tickled me.

"Emmett! Jeeze, don't hurt her!"

Emmett paused to look up at Jasper. "C'mon Jazz don't freak out, it's not like I'm going to kill her."

"Yeah . . ." I said, trying to catch my breath. "This girl's made of tougher stuff than most!"

This was said as I successfully fell backwards, unable to stabilize myself due to the brace. I crashed on the carpet with a muffled giggle.

"Yeah," chuckled Emmett. "I can see that."

Still laughing I pushed myself up and straightened out my brace. Jasper eyed me cautiously but shook his head, blond curls bouncing.

"So who's up for a movie?" Emmett said, helping back onto my feet. "I vote for _Interview With a Vampire!_"

Jasper laughed. "Sure it's not too scary for you, Em?"

I froze and swallowed. Jasper looked my direction.

"I'd rather not." I said. Darkness had always been a fear of mine. Dark _things_ sometimes fell into that category. "All the blood and the death and . . . blood drinking . . . not really my thing."

"Oh." Said Emmett, looking interestedly at Jasper. "Well . . . then . . ."

"We have tons of other movies." Jasper said quickly. "Let's let her pick, huh Em?"

Emmett blinked for a moment and then gave in, giving me a slight nudge. "Alright but nothing _too_ girly and _nothing_ Nessie watches!"

I spent a good ten minutes going through all their movies . . . and they did have a lot . . . when I finally chose one, the perfect one, to get back at Emmett for picking on me. If he was going to start sibling bonding now, then I wasn't going to be left behind. When I was finally ready, I popped the disk in, jumped on the couch with a pillow clutched to my chest and waited . . .

"_A Walk to Remember?_" Emmett exclaimed. "You're killing me, Brie!"

I giggled quietly to myself as Jasper told him to stop moaning.

I had to admit; I was loving this family more and more.


	7. Chapter 7 La Push

A little late, but so far my longest one! Had a lot I wanted in this chapter, and a lot I had to save for later. Anyway, hope you enjoy! Read and comment please. Thank you! :)

Scooterly

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**Seven**

_**La Push**_

"When are we going to explain it to her?" I heard Esme asked in a hushed voice.

I knew it was Esme's because of the gentle ring to it. It made me want to open my eyes, to look at her and see the motherly glow that tended to surround her. After spending Thursday night and Friday night with just the guys, I was starting to miss the estrogen. Carlisle, after much pleading and begging and promising not to do stupid physical acts of grace allowed me to lose my brace and I was once more free to walk again. Emmett took this as an advantage and good excuse to pester me more than usual. Thursday night, I had fallen asleep on the couch after eating. Same on Friday, and the guys just left me there. This morning, I heard shuffling around in the kitchen and was excited to hear that Esme was back; that meant Alice was home too.

"We'll wait until we know more of what's going on," I heard Carlisle whisper back to her. "I don't want to scare her away."

"And what about what happened with Chase? How are we going to explain _that_ to her?" Esme whispered quickly. I almost didn't hear her.

It didn't take long for my foggy brain to figure out that they were talking about me again. And what was wrong with Chase?

I didn't bother waiting for more. I popped my head up, clearing the sleep from my eyes as Esme gracefully turned to look at me. She smiled brightly and cast a quick glance up at Carlisle before walking over to me. I sat up and she gave me a hug.

"So this is how they took care of you . . . I'm going to have to have a word with Emmett and Jasper . . ."

"Don't blame them," I said with a yawn. "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. How was your . . . relative?"

"Oh . . ." she looked generally surprised that I knew, looking at Carlisle before finishing her answer. "Um . . . she was fine. Just the flu, she's on the mend. Thank you for asking, honey."

I nodded and then sighed. I was still wondering what they were talking about; what did they know that might frighten me away? Had they done illegal things? But he was a doctor . . . they had been so good to me . . . but then, so had a few other families. I looked at the floor and sighed. Maybe I had been right in the first place; I wouldn't be staying here after all.

"What's wrong with Chase?" I asked softly, still looking at the floor. "I'm sorry. You were talking about him as soon as I woke up, and . . ."

"Honey," I looked up. Esme's voice suddenly became very compelling, undeniable. Her eyes locked with mine. "We never said anything about Chase. Are you sure that heard correctly?"

Something in her tone made my mind shift off balance, and suddenly I doubted what I had heard. My brain felt foggy and I closed my eyes for a moment, rubbing my temple.

"No . . . I'm sure . . ."

"Brie!"

I looked up to see Alice gliding downstairs, Jasper faithfully at her heel. I smiled at the both of them and gave Alice a hug as she bent down to me.

"Oh you got your cast off!" she said happily. "Does that mean your staying with us?"

She turned to look at Carlisle who quickly spoke before I could answer.

"She still has two weeks to decide, Alice. Don't pressure her."

Alice grinned guiltily and stepped back, allowing me to stand up. It felt so good to be without crutches and a cast and a brace . . . I stretched and then remembered abruptly that it was Saturday.

"Oh, Carlisle!" I said suddenly. He turned towards me, silently regarding me. "Uhm . . . some friends at school . . . invited me to a . . . party, I guess."

"Where at?" he said, furrowing his eyebrows, looking at Alice as well.

"La Push beach." I said.

Part of me was expecting him to say no. I had only been with them for a short while and I wanted to go out and party? I guess he had reason to worry, I mean. . . I was the ideal trouble causing teen . . .

"That's a good place. A lot of kids go there."

"Really?" I said, surprised. "I mean – thank you! I'll come home on time, I promise . . . and . . . and . . ."

"Oh!" Alice broke in again. "We got you a cell phone by the way, just in case you need us when you're at school or something. Or for a situation like this!"

"Oh . . . I . . . what?" I mumbled stupidly as she handed me a small, turquoise, Samsung Juke. I'd heard of these; they were part MP3 player too. I was just in awe of having my first ever cell phone. "You're kidding . . ."

"I know they're kind of out of style but . . ."

"Are you serious? It's mine?" I looked at her and then at Carlisle and Esme. They nodded. "Wow . . . thank you . . . but . . ."

"Don't try giving it back. It's no problem." Esme said, sensing where my thoughts were already going. "It already has all our numbers in it; Alice just finished transferring all the information from her phone to yours."

"I didn't know what songs you liked so there's a variety." Alice said happily.

I admired the slender new object in my hand and then stuck in securely in my pocket.

"So what time are you going?" Alice asked; I think she was more excited than I was.

"And with who?" asked Jasper.

"They said to meet them down at the beach around noon." I looked up at Jasper and remembered how he had gotten when I told him about Dante, even though I hadn't given any specifics. "A group of girls I met at school. They're all really nice."

I didn't mention my "date." The whole thing with Dante had been fun little joke . . . but I was worried he might have taken it seriously. He didn't talk too much yesterday and avoided me when he could. I felt I had successfully ticked him off and hoped he would leave me alone.

I smiled reassuringly at Jasper and he gave a twitchy grin back.

"Great! I'll drive you!" Alice offered enthusiastically. "Come on, we need to get you ready . . ."

"Oh don't go playing "Barbie" with her, Alice," I heard Emmett say behind me; I ducked just in time to avoided being put into another headlock; two days and I was already getting his pattern down. "You did it with Bella and now look at her."

"Exactly! Now she has a prime fashion sense! Now leave her alone, Em, I have to make sure she's ready!"

She grabbed my wrist to drag me upstairs but I was roughly jerked back by Emmett.

"Don't worry, Brie, I'll save you!" he said with a booming laugh. "Alice won't corrupt you if I have anything to say about it!"

But apparently he didn't have anything to say because as soon he grabbed my wrist, Alice let go and charged at him, jumped onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. He let go of me and staggered back, trying to pry away her hands before he fell to the floor. I saw Carlisle wince and Esme shake her head helplessly.

"Alice, why do you always go for the head?" he laughed, still trying to get at her. "You've had the fascination ever since you ripped James's head off."

I saw Carlisle and Esme tense for a moment and then turn to see Jasper tense as well. I guess it was a touchy subject . . . I leaned up next to Jasper.

"Whose James?" I whispered.

He swallowed and cleared his throat. "Uhm . . . old boyfriend. Emmett was only speaking figuratively . . . of course."

"Well I figured that," I said, rolling my eyes.

Alice hardly seemed like a vengeful murderer.

"Alright, alright!" Emmett said, laughing. "You win!"

She had successfully pinned him to the floor with his arms bound behind his back. I snickered; what a wuss.

"I usually do." She said, giggling evilly as she sprang easily to her feet. She skipped up to Jasper and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled and rose and eyebrow.

"You can be particularly scary at times, you know that?" Jasper responded, touching her hand.

She grabbed my hand and began to pull me away, casting one last wicked glance over her shoulder before briskly drawing me upstairs.

* * *

"The posse" was already there when Alice arrived, carefully out of sight. Carlisle had spread word to everyone that not much attention was to be drawn until I was for sure going to stay with them. I hadn't really put a lot of deep thinking on the subject because it continued to bother a part of me, staying with another family.

But then, he had foster children now and didn't seem like he was going to be giving them up. Hell, I'd already been called a "sister" by Emmett and Bella and Alice. Esme was the mother I'd always loved to have but could never seem to keep. Yet there was that . . . feeling . . . that something was off with this family. My mind reverted back to part of the conversation I had overheard between Carlisle and Esme that morning . . . what were they going to tell me? I knew Esme was warm and welcoming, but it was almost like . . . she didn't want me. Was it a finance issue? Was she worried they couldn't provide? But Carlisle disagreed, whatever her reason for worry was. I had been wanting so bad to run off again, to wait until I was eighteen, because then child services would no longer care. I could do whatever I wanted and needed. I didn't _need_ anybody else.

So why was it I felt so safe with them?

I looked wordlessly at the yellow Porsche as it drove off, pulling my scarf tighter around my neck as the November wind seeped through too my skin. The days had been gradually growing warmer, though everyone seemed to be on their toes, waiting for another cold snap to come through. Yet "warm" for these people was 50 degrees and up. I came from southern California; anything below 70 was indoor weather for me. So I shivered as I stumbled down to the beach where I saw them sitting in two cars, doors open so they could talk with each other. A bag of pixie stix was going around.

Great; just what they needed. Sugar.

"Hey, Brie!"

I said "hi" to them all and climbed into the open back end of Kirby's vehicle, hugging my arms tighter around myself. I was handed a purple pixie stick and conversation quickly resumed . . . something about more people coming.

"Who else is coming?" I asked, fidgeting with the small paper tube.

"Seth!" Jennifer said excitedly.

"Jenn's crush . . ." snickered Kim.

Kirby clapped her hands and giggled. Mariah shook her head and opened a can of Mountain Dew.

"What? He's so . . . _cute!_"

I couldn't help but giggle a little myself. Like with the Cullen's, I hadn't known these girls for more than a week, and already I felt like I belonged with them. I had become one of their own so easily – part of their "posse." All of a sudden, Kim jumped up from the back seat of Jennifer's car and waved, her curly blond hair seeming to be extra frizzed today, being so close to the water. Jenn looked up and waved to and Kirby, Mariah and I all turned to look over our shoulders.

Jacob, Seth, Chase and a few others were coming towards us. Seth ran up ahead.

"Hey, Brie!" he said. "Didn't think I'd see you here."

"Oh you know her?" Jenn asked, jumping up to give him a hug.

"We know the family she's staying with." Jacob said as he approached, leaning against Kirby's vehicle. "I heard there was a party down here?"

I noticed how Jacob seemed to be the leader of all the others. Once he was comfortable, his friends made a circle around the rest of us. Chase hopped up next to me.

"Hey!" he said brightly, nudging my shoulder. "No crutches! Congrats."

"Thanks," I said, looking down at the ground. I bit my lip, rubbing the back of my ankle with one foot. I gave a nervous laugh I instantly regretted. "So . . . I guess I get to see you again sooner than I thought?"

He shrugged. "Nah, I came for the party."

I rolled my eyes and gave a playful elbow jab.

He laughed and held up his hands in surrender. "Alright . . . alright! I came just to see you."

"Flatter."

"What else do you want me to say? 'Jake made me come'?"

I rolled my eyes and reached for a Pepsi in the cooler that Kirby had put in the trunk. My eyes caught Jake looking at us, a smirk on his lip. He shook his head as he turned away. It was then I notice the other girls catching glances at us. I cleared my throat and proceeded to swing my legs, becoming a silent fly on the wall as conversation picked up between the guys and the girls.

As usual, I quietly listened to conversation. At some point I must have opened my pixie stick and dumped it into my mouth because I became aware that I was rolling the empty paper tube around in my hand. I jumped when I heard a cell phone go off and saw Jake turn away slightly as he answered his. Just because he was in ear shot, I listened in on the one way conversation.

"Yeah . . . he's here." "Of course I'm not lying to you!" "I understand, Maggie . . . er . . .Miss Sage." "Yes." "Yes, I promise." "Before ten. You bet. Bye"

He snapped the phone shut and I looked away as he walked past Chase and me.

"Your grandmother's crazy." He grumbled.

"Oh let her be," Chase smirked. "Just because she holds you responsible for every scratch I get, doesn't make her crazy."

"Right." Jacob mumbled taking up his post on the other side of the car.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "A little overprotective?"

I felt a twinge in my stomach when he didn't smile back. I guess I didn't say the right thing.

"She's got reason to be."

"Oh."

"Hey Brie, when's your date coming?" Mariah called over to me, drawing me out of my thoughts.

"You . . . invited someone?" Chase asked me quietly. I ignored him; I had to.

Kirby jumped up and turned on me.

"You're _what?_" she looked accusingly at her other friends. "Thanks for not sharing! With who? Oh my God this is like . . . I mean . . . Ah! I'm so happy for you!"

"Ehm . . ." I glared at Mariah who smiled deviously and I took in a deep breath. "Well you see I didn't _actually_ – "

"She invited Dante!" Jenn offered a little too happily. I shot her a glare which was cut short when Kirby "squeed" with excitement. I cringed.

"Dante? _Really?_" she seemed barely able to hold her excitement. "Oh my God he _never_ talks to anybody!"

"So I've heard . . ."

"When's he coming?"

"I don't know." I said tonelessly. "If I'm lucky he won't show at all."

I smiled at the weird look she gave me and helped myself to another pixie stick.

After another hour, I could see everyone was growing bored of just sitting here. I contributed that to Dante's no-show. After a few moments, I pushed myself down from the back and took a deep breath.

"So what do you guys do for fun around here?"

"Do you have his number?" Kim asked. "You could call him."

I grumbled. "Nah. If he wants to be difficult, I don't really care."

"I'm sorry he didn't show . . ." Jenn offered.

I shrugged. "It really isn't a big deal."

I think they looked more forlorn than I did. It was really more of a dare than anything for me. I really didn't think I could spend an afternoon with him in all honesty.

"Let's go walk the beach then," Kirby suggested. "Go see what washed up on shore."

"I'm up for a dip in the ocean! Who's in?" Jacob said, stretching. All the guys yelled in excitement and followed him down the beach as Mariah and Kirby smiled at each other and followed.

Seth turned to Jenn. "Wanna watch?"

"Psh, yeah!" she said, smiling widely as she jogged after him. Kim snickered and rolled her eyes and followed, and then motioned for me to come along.

I had been hoping they would start the campfire early. I was freezing and rather tired of sugar. Someone had bought hot dogs and I was really starting to crave them. But I turned, not really desiring to be left alone, and walked straight, smack into Chase. I jumped back and walked around him.

"Well aren't you coming?"

He shrugged. "I was actually hoping for a casual stroll."

"Who uses the word 'stroll' anymore?"

He nudged me. "I do."

I scowled and nudged him back. It hurt and I don't think he felt a thing. He stretched and began walking down the beach, all the others far ahead of us now. I heard Jacob some sort of wild call and burst out laughing. I heard Chase laughing too as Seth and the others copied the call. I stared at Chase for a moment, and noticed how the golden sun danced off of his tan skin. I found myself smiling and enjoying the sound of his laugh; it had a soft undertone to it. Admittedly, it made my skin prickle.

We walked in silence for a while; I let him lead. We passed the others a ways back; they were plunging from a low rock into the ocean; that had to be freezing . . .

"Walk in the ocean," he said at one point. I looked up at him like he was crazy. "It feels neat; try it."

"I don't . . . really like large bodies of water."

He smiled and cocked an eyebrow, his voice low and calming. "I'll be right behind you. Promise."

I bit my lip, took a deep breath and pulled my shoes and socks off. I stepped forward as white foam came up to meet me. My skin prickled even before the water touched and I cringed when it did. The wave grew bigger and . . . well, I _thought_ I prepped myself for it. . . Apparently one needs "sea legs" for walking into the ocean because the next swell that came tripped me up and I went fast first into sand and saltwater. Instantly, I freaked and salt water went up my nose, down my throat and in my eyes. I flailed like . . . like a freak that was drowning.

Chase's hands quickly pulled me up, pulling my hair back as I sputtered and hacked out half a lung. When I was done, I clung shakily to his arm and glared at him as laughed.

"Sorry," he said. "It happens to the best of us.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my shoes and socks, walking barefoot in the sand. My feet were numb now, it didn't matter to me if they were covered or not. I was freezing anyway.

"Hey where are you going now?" he jogged up next to me.

"N . . . nowhere . . ." I stammered, trying to hold my teeth back from chattering. "I should just head back to camp."

I heard him shift something off and then my knees buckled as a heavy denim jacket was suddenly draped over my shoulders. I pulled it around me and then looked up at him to find that he was in nothing more then a thin, black t-shirt.

"You're going to freeze!" I said, trying to take the jacket back off.

"Not even close to what you'll go through," he said, taking my shoes and socks from me and shoving the jacket back on. "I was getting quite warm actually. Thanks to you I have an excuse to take it off. Now come on, there's a place on the beach I want to show you."

My trembling calmed down as we walked along the beach; his coat had been incredibly warm when he put it on and it smelled of damp earth, of rain and autumn; all sorts of nature scents that I liked. Secretly, I tried to bury my nose under the collar where the scent was strongest; it made me feel safe. Safe was good.

We were so far from the others now that I couldn't even hear Jenn or Kim's crazy cackles or the dramatic splashes as the _Quileute_ boys leaped into the water. I wondered why Chase didn't want to join them – maybe he just didn't want to go for a swim on such a lovely day like this.

Later we came up to a large rocky area and I watched apprehensively as the water crashed against the rock and he kept leading us towards it. Part of my mind decided that, because he had my shoes, I had to keep following him. When we reached the massive rock, he looked back at me and motioned his head towards it. I could see that it opened into a wide, cave like area and I swallowed and stepped back.

"It's dark." I stated.

"Yes it is." He confirmed.

"I don't do dark."

He sighed and threw up his hands. "Alright, list of things Brielle doesn't like; deep water and dark places. Are spiders anywhere on there too?"

"No; I had a pet Tarantula once named Henry. Fluffy the family Sphinx ate him. I cried for a week."

"Aren't those the bald cats?"

"Yep." I said, turning. He caught me by my elbow and turned me around. I glared.

"Don't give me that look . . . come one, I really want to show you this!" He tried pulling a puppy face (which I had to give him props for, it was really cute but I was impervious to such things) and when that didn't work he went serious again. "I promise, I'll be right beside you."

"You said that about the water."

"It's not my fault you slipped on sand." He said and without even giving me a second's notice, he grabbed my hand and pulled me with him. "Don't worry, I'll keep you right with me; the boogieman wont get you with me around."

I stiffened at first but quickly reminded myself that there was no way he could have possibly known about those instances, about me being thrown against the wall. Alice didn't even know, or Jasper. And if they didn't know, no one else did either. Biting my lip again, I clutched his hand, my face turning slightly red but as soon as we stepped into the cave; thankfully he wouldn't be able to see my face. At least there was an opening at the other end; I couldn't see it, but there was a definite draft which meant the air was flowing in and out of somewhere. And though I couldn't see once Chase turned a corner I could feel we were in some sort of vast, open space. Our foot steps echoed in the dank air and I couldn't help but press closer. I felt myself begin to shake again, but I wasn't cold this time. Without a word, he released my hand and draped his long arm over my shoulders. To my surprise (and probably his as well) I really didn't mind.

"Here." He said at one point. We both stopped and he reached into his jacket that I was still wearing and pulled out a small flashlight. Flicking it on, he held out his hand to me again. "Trust me now?"

"You planned this," I accused, taking his hand anyway as he skirted around a jagged hole. "Look! You almost got us a killed!"

"Ha! Hardly." He cast the light over it. "It's like three feet deep. Now come on, over here is the right angle."

"Whatever." I said, clinging to his hand like a lifeline.

He sat us down on a dead log and smiled at me, his bright amber eyes lighting up like a child's on Christmas morning. I scooted closer as he removed his hand again and swept the flash light up.

"Now, look." He said quietly.

I glanced up and I heard myself gasp.

Though the top of the cave was high, someone had hung what looked like a ton of tiny glass pieces all over the top, like little mobiles. I took a closer look and saw they had shapes to them; wolves mostly, some seals, a few whales and a few eagles, but wolves reigned dominant. They were different color too; blues, reds, and greens . . . and the cuts made in them were so intricate and delicate it was hard to imagine how long it took to make all of them, much less how they even got up there. The light started to dash around and I turned to see Chase bent over, jamming the flashlight into a thick, rusty round of wire. It fit perfectly and I looked up to see that the light had caught them all precisely in the right spot it seemed, illuminating them so that all the colors were cast upon the dark walls. Giant blue wolves and red whales danced around us as green seals and white eagles swooped around on the far wall.

"It's . . . beautiful." I whispered and then I turned around to look at him. He wasn't looking back, but looking fondly at the glass things above us. He smiled, sadly it seemed. "Did you make them?"

He dropped his head and shook it, looking nothing like the happy-go-lucky Chase he was just second before. "No. We don't know who made them or why they're even here." He swallowed hard and I felt I had trod on the wrong territory, but he continued on. "My mother and I used to spend time here. I would put the flashlight in; she would prepare food and drinks. We would talk for hours about a ranch she would build in Montana, and how Grandma Sage could live with us since Grandpa passed."

He shook his head again and leaned back.

"It was Grandma's idea for me to bring you here."

I gave him a sideways glance. He seemed lost in memories for a second, the blue light of a glass wolf twinkling over him, illuminating his eyes. I touched his hand to get his attention; he looked at me tenderly. It was the shy way that reminded me of how he was like at the Cullen's. This must be how he was more like away from his friends.

"But you didn't want to." I concluded, looking down, pulling away.

"No, no! That's not it . . ." he sighed. "It's just . . . it's been so long since I've been here. The last time I was here . . . my mother was still alive."

Oh yeah . . . I had definitely crossed into uncomfortable territory now. All I could do was nod.

"You don't mind if I give you a little bit of history, do you?"

"I . . . guess not . . ."

He glanced up again and took a deep breath. I began to chew on my bottom lip.

"My father, my Grandmother's son, was an abusive man. I had seen it since I was a boy and yet my mother had always put up with it, I guess she thought she could change him. Same old story, you know? I guess my Grandfather tried many times to talk sense into him, but he was a frail man, and died of a heart attack before I could remember. My mother often turned to Grandma Sage, and Grandma was always a strong woman, the foundation of our family really. But she even feared her son.

"Well I guess I don't need to go into much detail. You get the gist. One night it got so bad though and my mother was unconscious on the floor. I bolted from the house and ran to Grandma's, the only safe place I really knew. My father didn't follow, but Grandmother called the police and kept me with her through the night. My mother was in the hospital a long time and . . . well, dad finally landed behind bars. I think it was hard for Grandma, I mean, it was her son! But she kept firm hold on me. We played games, she made me laugh; she made life better until mom was well again."

I didn't think it was the end of the story but I didn't say anything while he paused, collecting his thoughts. When he spoke again, I couldn't read his expression – it was a mix between pained and comforted.

"After every beating mom took she would run. I never knew where, so one night, I followed her. I snuck inside her backseat when I could hear an argument rising and when she got in the car, I stayed silent until we got to the beach. I got out and followed her . . . and found her in here, with a flash light, positioned like it is now. That night she just held me close and kissed me, and every time afterwards she'd take me with her and we sit in here to talk. She said the place healed her, gave her strength . . . took away her pain. After my father was out of our lives, we returned here together on a weekly basis, and she would talk about leaving. Grandma Sage wasn't to keen on the idea but she loved my mother like she was a blood daughter, and agreed that maybe a change of scene wouldn't be so bad. So we drove out to Montana, started a small ranch and life was good, for a while.

"It was my 9th birthday; I had to stay with Grandma all day because my mother had gotten snowed into town and was having trouble getting her truck up the mountain. All for a damned cake." He sighed and folded his hands in front of him, hanging his head. "She slipped on one of the turns, went off the side of the road . . . when they found her, they said she had snapped her neck. It was instant. She hadn't felt anything."

I swallowed hard. Watching him trying to cope with a memory like this seemed . . . so wrong. On his birthday . . . what a thing to remember.

"My Grandma's raised me since. When we started having money troubles, she sold the ranch, and we moved back here." He smiled slightly, which made me feel better. "Well, Grandma always said she was determined to raise a little gentleman, I just hope I can live up to her standards."

"She sounds like one hell of a woman." I said meekly.

"She is." He smirked and nodded, and then his features softened again. "You know, my mother was right. This place . . . it heals. I thought I would just get swallowed up with the past but . . . I feel better actually. I didn't want to return, originally, but my Grandmother insisted. And she made me promise to show you."

"Me?"

"She seems to think . . . that you deserve to see this place. She said you could help, and be helped." He turned to glance at me. "You know? I think she was right. The world seems . . . calmer, with you around."

I kept my eyes firmly planted on the ceiling, catching the colors randomly. I felt my cheeks blush.

"But she's never even met me." I finally whispered.

He shrugged his massive shoulders and strands of dark hair fell into his face. "She's always been a good judge on character."

We sat in silence for a long time. I hugged his jacket around me, thinking about all that he said, and tried to match the past to the person sitting next to me. That was Chase. It was part of who he was. And for some strange reason, he had incorporated me into that.

"So what's your story?"

The question jolted me out of my thoughts and I blinked at him. "Me?"

"Yes, _you_. Jacob said you were found and that the Cullen's took you in until you decide whether or not to officially stay with them."

"Did he now?" I scowled.

"Don't worry," Chase said, softly. "I'm not sharing your secret."

"How much do you know?"

"That you washed up out of nowhere and Carlisle made a bargain with you. That's about it. You're staying, aren't you?"

I shrugged slowly. "I . . . I don't know, Chase. It's . . . complicated. I don't really belong."

"Sure you do. You trust them, don't you?"

"Well . . ."

"I want to help too."

I looked up at him. I turned my head to the side, studied him silently and felt myself starting to withdraw.

"You don't know me very well, Chase. No one knows my history, none of the Cullen's at least."

"But . . ."

I shook my head and he quieted. I started to bite my lip again and he touched my shoulder.

"Why do you do that?"

"What?" I asked, leaning back.

"Bite your lip . . . you do it a lot."

I shrugged and sighed. "It calms me down."

He nodded as if it made sense. "So why haven't you told Carlisle anything?"

"Because I'm not going back into foster care." I said firmly. I was surprised to hear my voice tremble, as though I were on the verge of tears.

"But I thought he offered to adopt you."

"Yeah," I turned away, looking at the dimly glowing wall. "Until he knows my past. Then I'll end up like I always do."

"He wants to help you; in order to do that, you need to tell them what happened. I thought you told them about you? They don't even know why you wrecked here? I heard you were bound and gagged."

A cold shudder went through me.

"I told them I didn't remember what happened." I said quietly.

Silence ensued again and he brushed some hair from out of my face.

"But you do, don't you?" he guessed.

I swallowed and looked up at him, my eyes locking with his and slowly, I nodded. He had told me his story, and he barely knew me. He _trusted_ me enough to tell me his story. He thought I had already shared mine with the Cullen's, and now part of me felt obligated to share my past with him. I didn't want to, and now I felt nearly sick to my stomach as I debated with myself.

"I understand." He said, suddenly rising. "Come on, they're probably wondering where we went off to . . ."

"Wait," I said, grasping his hand to pull him back. "Wait. I do want to share . . . something with you. But you have to promise you won't tell anyone, not yet. _I_ need to do it."

He smiled encouragingly and sat down. "A gentleman never share's a lady's secrets."

I smiled slightly back. "I need to meet your Grandmother."

"Oh you will," he promised, if a little uneasily.

And so, staring up at the top of the cave again, I began telling my story to Chase, hoping I wouldn't regret it later.


	8. Chapter 8 Confessions

Woot got this one out fast! For some reason I was just in the writing frame of mind. Always a good thing. Thank you for those who comment and for those that add my story to their favorites! You guys are great! Hugs to you all! And I'm handing out virtual cupcakes to all those that comment! My friends are all picking Teams; Team Chase or Team Dante? Haha anyway hope you enjoy.

Remember the cupcakes! ;)

Scooterly

**

* * *

****Eight**

_**Confessions**_

"I came to live with Keith and Maria after my last home . . . passed me off again."

"What happened?"

I skirted my eyes away and self-consciously bit my lip again. I took a deep breath.

"I'm not sure if you understand the foster system or not, but it's . . . hard. Every family is different, and not all of them necessarily give it their all. There comes a time in everyone's youth when we start losing trust, when we don't love as easily. Why should we anyway? I mean . . . its foster care. We're just going to go to someone else in the end anyway." I stopped, hearing the bitterness in my voice and took a deep breath. "Sorry. Anyway . . . there are a "special" group of us that, after a while, are suddenly deemed . . . unadoptable. My last home was like the last straw and I knew that I was going to be stuck in a group home until I turned eighteen. I was classified as a troubled teen, an untamable force. They gave up on me and . . . well, slowly, I gave up on them. I told them I didn't care if I was classified as "unadoptable." So . . ."

"Oh my God . . ."

"What?" I stopped, confused at the disgust in his voice.

"They really do that? Classify you as unadoptable?"

I shrugged, not wanting to really talk about. "Some of us ask for it."

When he was quiet again, I continued. "Anyway, my last foster father thought I was sneaking out at night, because he said he heard me speaking to other people and walking around the house. One night, he even said he caught me at it and that we had a long discussion where I continued to defy him, call him names, and curse in front of him which I honestly don't remember anything about. However, the social worker was more likely to believe his sop story of how he tried so hard . . . and she told me she wished I would quit lying, that it would give me a better chance at getting a home. That was when she told me about the service's decision to change my status. I was a problem child, I guess, even though nothing I ever was accused was my fault. It was like these families just wanted to be rid of me . . . even though they had other foster kids that they dealt with just fine. I tried to not let it affect me; when you go through so many homes like I have, you kind of grow immune to "bad news." But this was like . . . this like telling me I'm not good enough. That I'm just another face in the crowd that doesn't even belong there. It was a kick in the face and I actually cried that night . . . I guess I never thought it would happen to me. I've always had another house to go to, another family. The group homes were okay but . . . I just felt like a dog in a shelter, the one no one wants to pick. The other unadoptables said it too; eighteen was our only freedom. Once we turned eighteen, we were able to go out on our own."

I stopped short, feeling my breath starting to catch. I had tried to not to think much about Keith and Maria; I had tried to not to remember that they had been murdered and that the people that had done it were still out there, possibly looking for me.

"So what happened at the group home?" Chase prompted quietly.

"I wasn't there very long, actually." I said quietly, my skin prickling at the tenderness in his voice. "My name was left up on the search list a little later than it should have been. It still said I was 15 and looking for a new place to call home, people to call "Mom and Dad" and that I liked animals and reading and that I might have some social issues, especially in large, competitive families. A couple found me, contacted Social Services and they had a talk. They were informed that I had been marked off as unadoptable but they wouldn't hear of it. In the end, if I agreed, they wanted to try and give me a home and Social Services agreed to let them. I didn't want to, at first. I really didn't. I already knew how the story would end. But looking around the home, I saw a lot of us that had siblings – I had always been jealous of those that had siblings. At least they had somebody, you know? Or those that were waiting to be adopted by distant relatives that they knew they could depend on. I had nobody.

"So, I gave in. When introductions went through and I met Keith and Maria Samson for the first time, it was like I could already sense how different they were. It didn't mean anything though; I had been too hardened already. I wasn't going to be any different and I think they could see that. As soon as they got to bring me home with them, things already started out on the wrong foot. My attitude got the best of me – I started telling them that this was hopeless, that they didn't want me. Maria, though, was so soft spoken and hardly got upset at all. Keith didn't say a word; just lugged my few items up to the room they had set up for me and they prepared dinner. I wish now, looking back, I hadn't been so mean to them that first night. They took in stride so easily, accepted as it came, but still didn't give me my way. In time, I grew more at ease around them. My best memory of them is when Maria woke me up one morning, knowing that I would be angry that it was five in the morning but she told me that a new foal had been born and asked if I wanted to go see.

"Without complaint, I got up and dressed, pulling on a pair of boots that had been a "welcome home" gift and followed her out to where Keith was. The foal was already starting to stand. We talked, out there in the cold of the morning, for the longest time and he showed me all the horses as he left the mother to tend to her newborn. He told me he took in horses that no one else wanted, most of them were mustangs that hadn't been able to be tamed and couldn't be sold. All of them were gentle to me; it was hard to believe that these had been some of the mustangs he told me about. The stories about them were horrible. But he said that every life deserved a chance, and that's why he rescued them. He told me he could see their soul if you looked deep enough into their eyes and you just had to understand that it had been turned inside out. You need to understand them and the language they spoke. He offered to let me ride one of his gentlest ones. At the time I was too afraid, but I told him I wanted to eventually.

"Little did I know that that was his own way of taming me. He took me with him whenever he got a new horse, showed me how to study them and learn when they were afraid or angry or content. He said that when they were angry or seeming to want to bite or kick you was when they were most afraid . . . kind of like me, I guess. That was when I realized that he got it – he understood me. And so did Maria – she was like the mother I had always wished for. The days got easier after that. They didn't seem to have a problem with me like the other families had and for once, I felt myself starting to trust again, maybe even love them. When they asked if I wanted to be a Samson permanently, I think I hugged them both so hard I cracked a rib!" I smirked a little here and stopped. I was stating to tremble a little, like I usually did when I talked about my past, and this being so recent just made it even touchier. "But I think Social Services was even more shocked; they didn't know what to think of one of their problem children suddenly wanting to be adopted. It was supposed to be the happiest day of my life.

"But I guess I should have guessed that it would end tragic, like the rest of my attempts at a home did." I ended the sentence with a trembling sigh.

I had to pull myself together. I didn't want to cry in front of him, but Keith and Maria's death was still trying to registering in my brain. I had forced myself not to think about it, tried to forget them and forget what happened. But part of me realized that I couldn't remain like this; that I would eventually have to face up to it. I just didn't want to. And how was I supposed to explain the people that came out of my closet? I was not going to go into the boogie man scenario with him right now . . .

"And then you were kidnapped." He concluded.

I nodded silently, my throat tightening.

"Well, we can still find them!" he said a little half heartedly. "You wont be put into foster care . . . I mean, I'm sure they'll be happy to see you again! I'm just surprised we haven't heard anything about your kidnapping . . . Brie?"

I was sitting in rigid silence as he spoke, halfway expecting his words. I didn't know if I could share that one last detail with him . . . I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, tasting blood where my teeth must have to cut my lip.

"They're dead, Chase." I said quietly. "They were both murdered in front of my eyes. And then I was kidnapped. And the only thing I remember after being knocked out was waking up in the snow, bound and gagged."

He didn't say anything for a long time. His silence made me feel alone and I found I was unable to say anything as well. I came back to reality when I felt a tear rolling defiantly down my cheek. This did nothing but make me angry with myself.

"Chase?" I said in a quavering voice.

"Yeah?" he said. His voice was quieter than mine; I don't think he knew what to say.

"Have you heard . . . anything? About a couple murdered down in Southern California? Or about the investigation of the car wreck?"

"No." he replied, his hand gripping my shoulder. "But I'll let you know if I hear anything."

I nodded. I already figured it would be impossible for any leads to be found here. Something in my senses told me that trying to follow two minions of the boogie man wouldn't exactly be easy, but I wasn't about to explain that to Chase. I had at least hoped that I would hear something about Keith and Maria. I was only slightly surprised that there hadn't been a missing person's thing screened on the news for me.

"Brie?" Chase said, standing up.

"Yeah?" I, responded softly, following him.

"I know this sounds really stupid and unhelpful . . . but I'm sorry."

He pulled me into a hug and I couldn't help the sob that surged out. My body felt weak like it usually did when I let my emotions out and I could only rest my head against him. His arms held me tight and I felt him rest his cheek on the top of my head. With a stuttering sigh, I tried to get a grip on myself, even as my tears continued to drench his shirt.

"I'm so sorry . . ." I heard him whisper.

* * *

I don't know how long we stayed in that cave, but in the end, it almost felt good to have someone there that knew, it felt good to have that rock to lean on. I had been pretty independent most of my life. Now, walking out into the open salty air, my eyes stung and I tried to put forward my best "strong girl" face again. I didn't like revealing myself to people; it made me feel vulnerable. But Chase was right about the cave; there was something comforting about it, about the way the colors and the animals bounced off the dark walls. I wasn't afraid of the darkness in there, it was different. It was safe. Chase kept his arm around my shoulders and my heavy head drooped against his side as we walked along the beach. It surprised me how much better I felt with him there.

"I have horses where I live," he said as we walked along, slowly, taking in the last few rays of the day. "Some of our favorites that we were able to take with us from our ranch in Montana. You should come to my house sometime, we can go riding."

"I'm not very good." I said tonelessly.

"That's alright, I can teach you. Our horses are really gentle."

I smiled up at him and he smiled back.

The day was already drifting to a close and felt rather guilty; it had been my friends from school that had invited me, and here I had spent most of my time with Chase. I wondered what they would say. I still walked barefoot; my socks and shoes still cold and wet. Chase didn't mind however and continued to carry them for me. I slowed as we neared the campsite where the others must have returned and I stopped. Chase looked at me oddly as I stepped out from under his arm.

"Do I look alright?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Do I look like I've been crying?" I didn't want to answer any questions, not after what had happened already.

"Oh," he faltered for a moment, moving my hair out of my eyes and wiping a thumb underneath my eyelids. "A little red, but you _did_ fall into a bunch of saltwater . . ."

I smiled and he pulled back with a grin.

"Ready to rejoin them all? I think I smell hotdogs."

My stomach grumbled and I laughed a little bit and nodded.

"Yeah. I think so."

"And by the way . . ." he made a side glance at me. "You look more than alright. You look beautiful. In a frizzly-hair, salt water in the eye, wet and cold kind of way."

Regardless of the small blush to my cheeks, I punched his shoulder and laughed.

"Amateur."

"Gotta give a guy props for trying!"

Suddenly very nervous, I started to bolt ahead of him and looked over my shoulder to yell, "Beat ya to the group!"

He yelled out a defiant "Hey!" before chasing after me and together, we sprinted down the beach. I didn't care about the cold or anything now; it felt good to run, to let everything go in the quick race of my heart beat. I no longer felt nervous just . . . free.

When we came close to camp, Chase quit letting me feel like I was faster than him and caught up with me in three strides, grabbed me around the middle and spun me, laughing loudly as a yelped in surprise and pounded on his shoulder, demanding to be put down. When he dropped me to my feet, the Quileute boys and the posse were all staring at us, most with huge grins.

"And where have _you two_ been?" Jacob said, his voice ringing with laughter.

"Uh . . ." Chase suddenly seem unable to speak.

I avoided Jake's eyes and I found myself suddenly stared down by the posse. Mariah looked smug, Kim and Jenn looked appalled, and Kirby . . . was practically digging her nails into her open mouth with excitement.

"What?" I said suspiciously. "Did Dante randomly show up or something?"

"Whose Dante?" Chase whispered down in my ear. I pushed him away.

"Well for one," Mariah was the first one to speak, the only one that could seem to break this mesmerized trance they were all in. "You got several texts from Alice . . ."

Those simple words automatically set off. I jumped as Jenn started in, waving a turquoise Samsung in the air.

"And then she called like ten times and Jasper called like twenty and then . . . then . . ."

"Dr. . . .Cullen . . ." Kim said slowly, as if it were either a very bad or very good thing. I felt my legs turn to jelly.

"You dropped your phone!" was all Kirby could say in her extreme excitement.

I stared at them for a long time before punctually replying, "Oh."

"Oh? _Oh?_" Kim said, standing up.

"Why didn't you _tell_ us?" Jenn's voice was nearing that of a pathetic whine. "Oh my _God_ do you know how _big_ this is?"

"Um . . . no?" I confessed.

They all gazed at me, open mouthed.

I gave a nervous laugh and looked at Jacob for help. He smirked and shook his head.

"Alright guys," he said, snatching the phone from Jenn's shaking hands and handing it back to me. "Secret's out. Yes, Brie's staying with the Cullen's but there is no say whether or not it is final yet so don't get on her case for not telling you, alright? She's had a tough time. She may stay with them, she may not. _Don't_ pressure her."

They were on me like flies to honey.

"So your friends with Alice?"

"Have you met Bella?"

"Did you know they're all married?"

"Don't you think Carlisle's sort of hot?"

"Did Rosalie give you any beauty tips?"

"Can I meet Emmett?"

"Can I meet Edward?"

"Can I meet Jasper?"

"Can we have a slumber party?"

I looked into their wildly crazy eyes and took a step back into Chase, who I could tell was trying to hold back his tense laughter. The other Quileute boys didn't even hesitate to start laughing.

"Guys? Uh . . . no offense but I've got to keep this on the low side of things so if you could, you know, say _nothing_ about this during school . . . "

"No problem!"

"Are we still going to have a slumber party?"

"Uhm . . . I'll . . . maybe . . . ask . . . . but it probably wont be right away . . ." I stammered, smiling at their antics. Oh they were so strange sometimes . . . "Just don't say a word . . ."

"We _wont!_" Mariah promised dramatically. "I do wish Dante had come though . . ."

The other three sighed in dramatic unison.

I rolled my eyes when the phone rang again. The ID said I was Jasper and I flipped it open, turning around so I wasn't looking at my friends. I didn't need to see their knowing faces right now.

"Hey Jazz," I said.

"Brie . . ." he heaved a sigh of relief over the phone. "Why didn't you answer before?"

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"No . . . we were just checking up on you."

"Okay . . ." I said. With thirty calls? Whatever . . . "Well, I'm fine. I just dropped my phone before I went walking along the beach. I'm okay."

"Who were you walking with?"

"Chase." I said evenly.

"Oh . . ." I heard Alice squeal in the background and Jasper laughed lightly. "Well, Carlisle is having us pick you up soon. I'm sure Alice has questions for you."

"Great." I muttered.

"Talk to you later, Brie." He said; I could tell he was smiling.

"Yeah, see ya, Jazz."

I flipped it shut and saw the puppy dog eyes behind me of the posse. I shook my head and laughed.

"You guys are so hopeless."

* * *

After Alice sent me a text saying she was close, I started to head towards the place where she said she would meet me. I said good bye to everyone, promising the posse that I would see what I could do about the sleep over. I gave Seth a quick hug and had my hair ruffled my Jake before I struck out up the cliff side where the sandy trail turned to pavement. I stopped halfway up when Chase called out to me.

I turned to see him running up to me and he handed me my shoes and socks. His lopsided smile made me grin wider.

"So . . . uh . . . Dante . . ."

"I promise I'll explain some other time." I said with a laugh. "Why do you care so much anyway?"

"Just . . . wondering . . ."

I laughed and turned to go when he turned me around again.

"Hey . . . so, about that horse riding thing . . . You're going to join me sometime right?"

I smiled. "Yeah, of course. I like hanging out with you, Chase."

"Really?" his face lit up and then he cleared his throat. "I mean, yeah, I like hanging out with you too, Brie. See you soon, right?"

"Right." I said.

I gave him another big hug and then turned and trudged up the trail again, waving behind me.

When I reached Alice's car, I jumped into the passenger's side, automatically relieved from the blaring heater. It was like she knew I would be freezing . . . After greeting me enthusiastically she examined me up and down and turned her head to the side, a curious smile on her lips.

"Did you have fun?"

"Yes. . ."

"And how was time with Chase . . ."

The way she said it made me smile awkwardly, laugh and blush all at the same time. "Alice!"

She laughed as she put the car into gear. "You two would make a great couple."

"Alice!"

She giggled again and sighed, relaxing against the seat of her Porsche, black feathery hair framing her face. She turned to look at me and her expression changed slightly. I didn't say anything until she looked forward again and then I shifted in my seat.

"You look like you've been crying . . ." she said, turning onto the road that led the way home.

"I fell into the ocean." I said, trying to ignore the knot in my stomach, forcing out a laugh. "It was Chase's fault. He'll pay."

She gave a half grin and nodded. "Oh I'm sure he will . . ."

The rest of the ride home, I explained to her the wonders of pixie stix, teens, and what happens when you leave a hot dog in the fire too long. I told her that Chase and I had wandered off on our own (but I didn't tell her what we talked about) and that he wanted me to come see him. Hardly surprising, she found this news really exciting and the car sped up as she giggled. I held on for dear life, laughing with her.

It wasn't until we got home that I realized I still had Chase's jacket.

I hardly felt any sympathy for him.


	9. Chapter 9 Intruder

Woo, I think this a new record for me! Haha This chapter was a blast to right, I think because I enjoy torturing my characters. Thank you to those that comment and welcome to the readers I keep receiving. You guys, as always, make it so worth while! :)

Scooterly

**

* * *

****Nine**

_**Intruder**_

Monday came to fast. To my great pleasure, Dante preformed another no show, so math was actually quite peaceful for once.

Tuesday, however, was different on a variety of levels.

"Have fun at the beach?"

"Gee, I'm glad to see you back. What did you do; play hooky yesterday?"

Dante was standing to the right of my locker as I dug out my books, looking as he always did. Pale, lacking sleep . . . I had begun to wonder if he did drugs. He didn't act like it, but he sure seemed like a good candidate. I slammed my locker shut, clearly irritated as I started down the hall. Dante matched my stride.

"I took my little brother hunting."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I wasn't aware you had siblings."

"Twelve of them."

"So you're lucky number thirteen then?"

He grinned maliciously but didn't say anything to the statement. My baiting him wasn't going to work today.

"You never answered my question." He said smoothly. "How was your time at the beach?"

"Beautiful." I said simply. "I had a great time. Especially with Chase."

I don't know what made me say it, I really don't. But it seemed like a good add in.

"Boyfriend already?"

I proudly held my head. "No."

He smirked. "You missed me."

"Not in the slightest."

"You're not even curious why I didn't come?"

"No." I said, combing a stray hair behind my ear. "With a family that big, I suppose you have more important things to do."

I could hear a slight grumble in his voice as we passed the door way, out into the open air to pass to the other building and smiled to myself. One point for me. He lagged back a little before springing ahead to open the door to the trailer. I gave him a wary glance, as though expecting to him to shout "April Fools!" and slam the door in my face or something. Instead, he impatiently motioned for me to get inside.

"And . . . where exactly did you pick up manners from overnight?" I watched him closely as I walked past him and he closed the door, his face growing stern.

"I'm not allowed to be a gentleman?"

"Didn't you hear?" I said in a very serious voice. "They're all extinct! That species is gone forever . . ."

He glowered at me and I smiled.

In the next second some god-awful noise choked and sputtered through the hall and wandering students jumped, some dropped books – a warning bell. A Freshman started having a panic attack and lost her glasses and began crying until one of the teachers grabbed her and pulled her into her classroom. Students started stampeding into the first open classroom and before I could take off on my own, Dante grasped my wrist and hauled me with him.

"Hey!" I shouted.

"Just come on!" he commanded.

I really didn't have much of a choice. He hauled me down the hall and into a secluded room which I soon found out, much to my distaste, happened to be a broom closet. He threw me into a pile of buckets and slammed the door behind us, locking it.

"What the hell –?" I stammered, trying to push myself up.

"Shh!" he growled, crouching next me, placing a cool hand over my mouth. I felt tempted to bite him but thought better of it.

We both held our breaths as voice sounded over the intercom:

"_Intruder alert; this is NOT a drill. Repeat; this is NOT a drill."_

My skin shuddered, icy cold. Something was very . . . very wrong. It was then I realized where we were; a broom closet. And not just a broom closet – a very _dark_ broom closet.

"Dante," I whispered. "Dante, we need to turn the light on."

"What? No way, August . . ."

"No! You don't understand . . ."

I saw something flicker to the side of me and tripped over a bucket into Dante. He caught me easily and I felt him flinch at the noise as the bucket sent others like itself crashing to the floor. Darkness seemed to cover them . . . coming towards me.

"_I_ don't understand? Unless _you_ forgot, the entire school is under lockdown!"

I simpered as I felt something soft and cold touch my ankle. The roots of my hair were starting to tingle and I knew I needed to stop my hair from turning. I looked up into the darkness, trying to determine if I could reach up and grab the light cord.

That's when we both heard the squeaking of the trailer door and tensed. The door slammed shut, as though whoever was coming was incredibly irate. The foot steps were loud and slammed down against the ground, making sure every student and teacher heard them. They didn't stop; they simply passed down the hall and then passed back. Whoever it was was preying on the fact that they were scaring a ton of students and teachers. I heard them rattle door knobs and bang on lockers. No one screamed, thankfully.

I suddenly winced and shut my eyes tightly, my ankle feeling as though it had burst into flame. I glanced off to my side, my eyes seeing dark shadows curve into fingers, as though they were trying to pull be back to them. I thought I saw the figure of a man standing next to me. He had no face, he was just a shade. A scream got lodged into my throat and I turned and did the one thing I could never imagine myself doing; I started to cling to Dante and wrapped my arms around his neck. He didn't say anything, but he placed an arm around my waist and pulled my closer. I kept my eyes closed and tried drawing my ankles up to me. I could feel them, they were there . . .

_Coming to get you . . ._

_Little, pathetic, piece of humanity . . ._

"Stop it . . ." I whispered out of reflex.

Dante's hand lightly fluttered over my mouth to stop me from speaking. The footsteps in the hall way stopped . . . right in front of our door. I felt tears starting to burn in my eyes and I hopelessly clung to Dante, my fingers grabbing his shirt. He lightly rubbed my back.

_Both dead . . ._

_You're left alone in this world with dark things . . . _

Fingers were running through my hair but they weren't Dante's.

_An image flashed in my eyes of Keith and Maria's cold, dead faces, streaming with blood . . ._

The intruder pounded on our door and my heart rate flew and I jumped, yet Dante held me tight and secure, his hand still clamped over my mouth.

_He's just going to kill you, you know. . ._

_Same with your new . . . family . . ._

_They don't love you . . ._

_Just your blood . . ._

The door knob rattled wildly and I heard a deep hiss in Dante's throat. I couldn't feel my fingers anymore, they were dug to deep into his skin. My lip was bleeding profusely where I had bitten it and I buried my head into the crook of his arm. I was shaking so hard I was surprised he didn't fall over. Something was crouching over me; cold, dark, clinging to my back, wrapping its fingers around my waist . . . and still Dante hadn't noticed. I whimpered . . . trying to pull away . . .

_Come on Hope . . . Come out of the box . . ._

_Always so stubborn . . ._

Another knock pounded against our door and I lurched, but again Dante held me in steel like grip, his fingers pressed tight over my mouth as I emitted another squeak of surprise. I could hate myself for this later; I was terrified right now. The door knob rattled again.

_So close to death . . ._

Even though my eyes weren't open I could feel how much darker it was becoming around us – Dante didn't even seem to notice. Another deep hiss came from deep down in his chest and I clung to his shirt as someone pounded the door again. For a moment there was silence; still and loud.

And then a chilling voice, that wasn't the darkness but came from right outside the door spoke, deep and raspy:

"The girl is _mine_, Dante."

I think my heart literally stopped and I opened my eyes, trying to see his face.

This person . . . knew him. And me. Or, at least, that was the way it sounded.

Opening my eyes had been a bad idea however. I only vaguely heard the sound of the intruders retreating footsteps through the wild pounding in my ears and though Dante slowly loosened his grip, I still clung tightly to him.

"Please tell me you didn't hear that." He whispered but I wasn't able to answer him.

A sob escaped my throat as I saw the crowding darkness behind me and I kicked out behind me. Of course, my foot only became more encased in shadow and I began hyperventilating.

"What the hell Brie? You're shaking like you've seen a ghost . . . I didn't realize how afraid of the dark you were." Dante grumbled, trying to pry my fingers away from him. When he succeeded, I curled up on the floor in a fetal position and he stood, clicking on the light. "Brie?"

Judging by the sound in his voice, I must have looked like a mess. I felt like one too. Curled up tightly on the floor, I realized I smelled like bleach; I had knocked one of bottles over and it had started to leak all over the floor. I was shaking so hard my teeth rattled together and I couldn't stop crying. My back and my ankles could still feel where the shadows had touched me; a burning coldness that seemed to spread up my body and along my scalp. My lip stung as bleach touched the open area and I closed my eyes, feeling absolutely and completely helpless.

Dante knelt down next to me, his fingers running down my cheek.

"Good lord, Brielle what's wrong?"

I couldn't speak, all I could do was lay there in a puddle of bleach and shake, my heart rate pounding in my ears like a wild drummer in a heavy metal band. I hated this. I hated him. I hated me. I curled up tighter.

"Your hair . . ." he stammered.

I could already feel it fading back to normal and I sniffed loudly, my body racking with sobs. He had made me go through this, he had made me feel this vulnerable and helpless and yet I still had no choice but to cling to him. I felt his arms come up beneath me and pull me up out of my bleach bath as he unlocked the door and we stepped out in the hallway. A blur of students and teachers faced us and something was said over the intercom but I didn't catch it. I saw Mariah and Jenn's face in the crowd, appalled at the site of me. My heart was beating so fast now that I was starting to lose my senses; people were talking but it all sounded the same to me. My body was tired from shaking that I felt myself drifting off into slumber, safe now, in the light . . .

"Look at her . . . she's so pale!"

"Look how hard she's shaking . . ."

"That can't be good."

I saw a squat teacher push through the crowd of students and heard the voice of Mr. Alsop, instructing Dante to take me immediately to the nurse. I blinked, my breathing coming in short, ragged gasps.

"Hang in there, August." I heard Dante growl as he carried me into the cold, November air. "Don't you pass out on me."

As usual, I didn't listen.

My last coherent thought was wondering when we stopped being on a first name basis.

* * *

I woke up to the feel of eyes on me, staring intently, and the feel of cool water running down the side of my cheek. I opened my eyes, feeling like someone had lugged a sledge hammer into my face. With a groan, I moved my hand to my face to try and remove the damp cloth that had been set there.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?"

"Esme?" I murmured.

Her cool hand felt good against my face and I looked up to see her smiling down at me, relief on her features. Carlisle was behind her, still worried. Emmett and Jasper were looking at me, arms crossed. One look at Jasper and my headache eased a little. Alice was at my side almost instantly.

"Boy your just loads of trouble, aren't ya?" Joked Emmett, his face creasing into a playful grin.

I stuck my tongue out at him and then turned to the three that were hovering over me.

"I'm fine." I said, feeling slightly light headed as I sat up. I winced as a leaned on my arm and was surprised to see how bruised I was on my wrist. "What happened?"

"There was an intruder at the school, you went into lockdown." Carlisle said seriously. "The nurse said that a boy brought you in, that you had been locked in a broom closet, trying to get out when the lockdown was happening. They found you in a puddle of bleach and you looked like you were having a fit, or at least those were their words. Do you have seizures?"

"No," I said looking down at my cloths. It was true; my brand new shirt and pants were totally ruined now, soaked and cracking, stained white. I sighed. "I just . . . I remember being so scared and Dante wouldn't let me go . . . He wouldn't turn on the light."

"Whose Dante?" Jasper asked suddenly.

"This kid at school. He annoys me for the most part but – "

"Did he give you those?" he pointed at my wrist.

I looked at the heavy bruising on my wrist and where it led up my arm where I must have smashed into the buckets and other cleaning supplies. My lack of response was enough of an answer for Jasper.

"So he did this to you?" a quiet anger was clear in his voice. Alice stood up quietly and walked to him, placing a hand on his chest.

"It's okay, Jasper . . . he didn't mean to hurt her." She said in a soft voice. The tension in the room seemed to quiet but he still seemed uneasy. "Did he Brie? He helped you, didn't he?"

"Uh, yeah." I offered.

I thought back to what happened, trying not to remember the shadows in the broom closet, but rather the "intruder" that had caused all the alarm in the first place. He had addressed Dante, he had known where we were. And by the sound of it, he knew who I was too and, well . . . it was all really unsettling.

Maybe I needed Carlisle's help after all. I didn't know what Dante had done, or who this person was.

"Do they know who the intruder was?" I asked hopefully.

Carlisle shook his head. "Police were too late; he had already cleared the premises."

I closed my eyes and cursed to myself.

Something told me to spill it all to Carlisle, my past, what had happened . . . he hadn't said anything about being anywhere close to helping me like he had planned. Maybe he was waiting for me to help him. Maybe he had planned for me to give in all along. Maybe he knew I would grow attached.

"I need to take a shower." I said softly. "Clean up."

"You're sure you're okay?" Esme said, already helping me up.

I smiled at her and gently pushed her hands away. "Yes. I'm fine. . . I just . . . I just need to change and clean up."

Grudgingly, she stepped aside. With one last look at Jasper and Alice, I quickly took myself up stairs, gathered some cloths and spent a long time under the hot water.

When I got out, I still felt the need to take some time for myself and snuck downstairs. No one was down to greet me, so I walked outside, for once, without a body guard. There was a trail of sorts, leading out into the woods, so I grabbed a jacket and headed out. My head still hurt some and my lips felt chapped and still hurt from where I had bitten myself. The cold air did little to ease my pain but I walked anyway. I needed to be alone.

I didn't wander far; the last thing I needed was to get lost in the woodland of Forks, Washington.

I found a rock that overlooked a broad expanse of forestland, looking over the tops of trees, lightly powdered with snow. I sighed and rested my head against my knees. I felt lost, alone, abandoned at the crossroads. I was starting to lose focus of everything that seemed real to me anymore. I thought I had known who to trust, and then they had been ripped away from my life.

What if that happened with the Cullen's?

And then there was the whole mystery surrounding them; there was something they were hiding from me and I knew it. But I couldn't help but like them – maybe it was because I could relate to their kids, all foster. All adopted. But they had a stable home now.

I could have one too.

"Brielle?"

I looked up, blinking hazily at Bella as she beamed at me. I smiled back and scooted over so she could sit next to me.

"Hey Bella."

"I heard what happened." She said, lightly settling down next to me. She took a dead, crinkled leaf in her fingers and fumbled around with it. "I came to check on you."

"Thanks."

She released the leaf and it tossed and turned with the wind, disappearing quickly. After a moment, she looked over at me, her silky, brown hair falling down over her shoulders.

"Is there a reason why you're sitting up here by yourself in the cold?"

I smirked at the tone in her voice. "Just trying to sort out the mess that is my life."

I heard her sigh and I pulled my knees to my chest, readying myself for the ever so popular "there are other people in the world worse off than you" lecture but instead, she touched my shoulder and I looked to see her frowning.

"When I first came to the Cullen's," she said. "I knew that this was one of the best things, and hardest things, that had happened to me. You don't know my whole story, and maybe you never will. But I can tell you one thing for sure; all of them are trustworthy. Esme will be a great mother for you, and Carlisle is an amazing dad. Everyone supports you."

I thought about Rosalie and Edward and rolled my eyes. "Not everyone. Rosalie looks like she wants to hang my head on a pike every time she sees me and, no offense, but I don't think Edward likes me very much either."

To my surprise, she laughed.

"Don't you worry about Edward; I'll straighten him out. Don't take it personally, Brie, its just that he nearly lost me and Nessie and, well, he doesn't _know_ you. He just wants to be careful. As for Rosalie . . . I'll let you in on a little secret: She didn't like me at first either."

I raised my head at this.

"In fact, come to find out, she was just jealous."

"_What?_"

"I know, surprised me too."

"What was she jealous of?"

I looked at Bella – I suppose it could be her beauty; maybe Rosalie wanted to be a brunette. Or maybe Rosalie was jealous of the fact that Bella didn't come from a foster home. I knew I had had that feeling several times through my fostering experience, looking at the biological children of other families. They could never possibly understand. But Bella shrugged, as if it were a little thing that mattered nothing to her.

"Ask her. The best way to get to Rosalie is by talking to her. If you let her into your world, she'll give you a glimpse of hers. Maybe you'll fully understand her . . . Rosalie-ness one day . . ." Bella smiled. "But in the mean time, just ignore her and let Emmett take care of her. He's good at that."

"Or pissing her off."

"He's good at that too. See? You're already getting everyone's habits down!"

I laughed a little with her and sighed, looking around.

"I want to stay, Bella." I finally muttered. "I want to live here, and be happy, like the rest of you. But . . ."

"But . . .?" she prompted when I hesitated.

"But I don't think I can." My voice was so low I was surprised she heard it.

"Do you have family?" she tried guessing.

I shook my head. "I was found in a park, turned in. The note they found said that I wasn't allowed to stay with my mother and that my mother didn't want to raise me. Whatever that was supposed to mean. They never found my father either. I was born unwanted. Isn't that a great way to start life?"

"Sorry . . ." she said sheepishly.

I shrugged and then took a good look at her. "Carlisle didn't send you out here to get information, did he?"

She held up her hands in defense. "No! No . . . he doesn't work that way. You willingly gave me that information and if you don't want me to, I won't share it with anyone."

I took a deep breath. "That would be good; if you don't share it."

She smiled, if a little sadly. "No problem."

"Because," I added in as if I hadn't heard her. "I think it would be better if I did it myself."

"So . . . you're going give Carlisle a shot then?"

"Yeah, my life's all about "try this family" and "try that family" so why not try the Cullen's? He already made me a deal anyway . . ."

She was smiling at me a dazzling, sort of mischievous way that vaguely reminded me of Alice. I felt my body grow warm, even as the cold wind blew against me. There was something really special about Bella; even though she had married into the Cullen's, it was like she just blended in with them so well. Her and Alice, I figured, would be who I would get along with the best. I was starting to grow so attached to them. I already figured I wanted to spend more time with Bella and hopefully Edward would warm up to me. Rosalie . . . I would have to work on. I already enjoyed Emmett's rambunctious company and Jasper always made me feel better, no matter what.

Why did I want to want to leave all that?

_Because it's failed before, _I thought, clenching my fist.

I looked up to see Bella's hand covering mine, her skin icy cold. I shivered and she pulled away. I grinned, turning to look at her. Before I lost the courage, I leaned over and hugged her.

"Thanks, Bella." I whispered.

"Anytime you need me," she said. "You can give me a call. Middle of the night, middle of the day . . . trust me, I'm a night owl and an early bird."

I laughed. "Part vampire, huh?"

She shook her head with a crooked smirk. "Oh if only you knew . . ."

I stood up then, stretching.

"It is beautiful around here, I'll give it that. Very green."

"Yeah, I used to hate it here." Bella added. "And then I met Edward."

I laughed and she helped me off the boulder and onto the grass. Silently, we headed back to the house but before we reached the door, she paused and looked at me funny.

"So what exactly were you doing in a broom closet?"

I groaned, rolled my eyes and walked past her. "It's a long, complicated story. . ."

"Oh, I'm sure we can keep up."

"It might freak you out."

"I don't know, I've seen quite a few "weird" things my life."

I sighed. I bet she'd never been chased by the boogie-man.

"If you say so."


	10. Chapter 10 Phill and Taro

Thanks for the reviews guys! Haha I love cliff hangers, aren't they great? ;) Hope you enjoy this next chapter and I will sure keep on writing!

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* * *

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**Ten**

_**Phill and Taro**_

It wasn't until Wednesday afternoon that I noticed that Jenn and Kim had once more became Jim and Kenn.

"Wasn't Tuesday Twin Day yesterday?" I asked suspiciously, noticing how the two had dressed alike.

Apparently this was the wrong thing to say. They leaped across the lunch table in a frenzy and covered my mouth. Wide eyed I looked at them in amazement. Kirby and Mariah hauled them back.

"Shh!" Jenn said. "Don't let the whole school know!"

"Yeah." Added Kim. "Just watch and see what happens . . ."

I sat back in confusion, shrugged and stabbed at my food. I had recovered well from yesterday's antics, although it proved to be a good subject for school gossip. I couldn't walk down the halls of Forks High without some sort of stare or whisper following me. Part of me hated Dante for what he had done, yet I knew I still needed to talk to him. After I got other thoughts off my mind last night, about Carlisle and the question of adoption, I thought again about what happened that day. The girl is mine . . . he said. Whoever "he" was. Was _he_ after _me_? All I ever wanted was to be left alone and now it felt like the world was literally out to get me. One thing was for sure though – he wasn't from Child Services.

"So why were you in a broom closet again?" Mariah asked, looking up at me from her tray of salad and a pound of ranch.

I shrugged and glared offhandedly over in the corner where Dante sat; anxious it seemed, with a tray of untouched food.

"_He_ shoved me in there."

"You know," Kirby said. "Part of me wants to think of that as a steamy-closet-moment but . . ."

"With the whole intruder thing that went on," Jenn added, with a shrug.

"It just doesn't work." Kim finished, looking somewhat disappointed. "We're glad you're okay though. You looked really . . . bad . . ."

Yes, I was used to them completing sentences together.

I felt something cold suddenly drench against my back and I jumped with a scream, my mind flicking back to the shadows in the broom closet. When I looked behind me, I glared at the boy that had dumped a cup of ice water on my back.

"Get those bleach stains out, Brie?" he laughed.

I gritted my teeth and was rising, blood rushing to my face as the cafeteria sprang into laughter. My friends behind her were telling to calm down. I sighed, gripped the table and sat back down, concentrating hard on my picked through meal.

_One . . . Two . . ._

"What's a matter new girl; can't defend yourself? To afraid of the dark?"

I whipped around, unable to stop myself, knowing already that Carlisle was going to get a note home that I beat up a Forks High student and was expected to stay after school until six for the next two weeks . . . but I never got the chance to experience that pleasure. The cafeteria hushed and I looked to my side to see Dante standing coolly, a dangerous calm spread on his face. His bright, amber eyes were focused on the boy with the empty Styrofoam cup.

"You'd better not be picking on August, Greg."

"Oh, whatch' you going to do about it, Dante?" Though he acted tough, I didn't miss the minor squeak in his voice.

Dante didn't say a word as he strode forward, his gaze piercing and angry. He stopped a foot away from Greg, who I could see now was shaking a little.

"What was that?" Dante snarled.

Greg clenched his fist. "What? Does the ever so untouchable Dante have a crush? Going to save your lady?"

I wanted to make a smart comment but I didn't have a chance to get between them. I looked behind me and my friends looked about as stunned as I did.

"Perhaps he does." Growled Dante again, coming closer, making Greg take a step back. "And perhaps he will pulverize you if you ever _touch_ her again . . ."

Greg took another involuntary step back and slipped in the water that had missed me, landing with a wince-worthy "thud" as he landed hard on the tile. Dante stood up straight, looking pleased with himself and then turned to me. I was about to speak when he reached out and grabbed my arm tightly.

"Come on; let's go get you cleaned up."

"It was just water!" I protested. I still wanted to give Greg a piece of my mind and Dante the Super Creep was getting in my way. "You realize the last time you held me this tight you gave me bruises . . ."

He slackened his grip but quickened his pace, giving me no time to even looking at my friends before we turned the corner.

"Just come on, August."

"That's another thing," I said, panting to keep up with his stride. "When did we stop being on a first name basis?"

"When you started making my life difficult."

"When _I_ started making _your_ life difficult? _Excuse_ me?" when he just tugged me along, I dug my heels into the ground. "Hey! I have questions for you, you know!"

He sighed and swept me up into his arms until we reached the girls bathroom. He set me down on the floor and gave a light nudge inside and that was when I stopped my bantering.

The girl in the mirror stared back at me, wide eyed, dark, stray curls hanging down in front of her dark blue eyes. But there was something more out of place. My jaw slowly hung down as I reached up to touch the hair that hung over my shoulder.

It was growing redder and redder by the second. I finally looked from the mirror and at the strands in my fingers. Dante poked his head in, a fake smile on his face.

"I was pretty sure," he said evenly. "That you didn't want anyone to see the fiery red head you are underneath."

And with that he closed the door.

I came out much more subdued about ten minutes later. The bell would be ringing soon, but as of now, the hall we were in was still clear. He was standing idly by the water fountain, picking at his nails. I stared at him a long time, trying to find the right thing to say. Either he didn't know I had come out or he was craftily ignoring me.

"Um, thanks." I said. Oh boy was that original . . .

He shrugged, holding his fingers out to examine them.

"I don't really know why my hair does that . . . I mean, it doesn't weird you out, does it? I'm sure there's some bizarre scientific explanation for it but – "

"Give it up, August." He muttered, finally turning his eyes onto me. "You and I both know you aren't human."

I stopped, started and stopped again. He gave me a sideways look. I reverted to elementary tactics.

"Well then, what does that make you?"

His eyes hardened and he pushed himself up from the wall. He towered over me but unlike Greg in the cafeteria, I hardly felt intimidated by his height. His face wasn't the scary calm from before, but it sure was unreadable.

"If you can't figure it out, August, then you certainly shouldn't know."

The bell rang and students were starting to trickle down the hallway. He held my gaze for half a second longer and then walked past me. I grumbled to myself at his retreating back. I still had questions for him and he certainly wasn't going to get out that easy . . . I was starting to cling to my idea that he was on drugs. Who went around to people telling them they weren't human? It was such a ridiculous notion . . . But then there was the fact that I was constantly plagued by shadow creatures and things that went bump in the night. I had dealt with it for so long that the lines that were supposed to separate childhood fear and what was supposed to be reality blurred . . .

His voice echoed through my head again.

_You and I both know you aren't human._

What if he was right? I shook my head.

And then, to top it all off, it was hard to figure out if I was mad at him or grateful. Once it seemed he saved my life by shoving me in a broom closet; but it was if he knew what was going to happen. And then today he saved me from having to freak out the cafeteria with my changing hair . . . which made me wonder, why had it changed today anyway? It didn't do that unless I was around my shadowy company . . .

The cold water. The cold water had made me think about the shadows and my hair had started to turn. I looked down at my dark strands again, now completely back to normal. What if the color change was some sort of defense mechanism? I twisted the strands around in my fingers until I was tugged along by Jenn.

"C'mon you're going to be late!" she said, throwing my bag into my hands.

I shook my head and plodded after her.

* * *

I loved English for several reasons (none of which included my grand expertise on the language.)

All of my friends were together in one class, squished into the middle of the room.

The entire class was really friendly. And they all liked to play pranks on each other; including the teacher.

The teacher was incredibly clever at getting back at the students.

I don't think I have yet to pick up a pencil in that class, and yet still, somehow, I got a lot out of it.

She fed us.

Miss Fairchilde liked our class; enough to feed us sugar before turning us loose onto the next period. Everyone liked her in turn and cooperated when she wanted to get a project done; I couldn't say the same for all my classes. Even I was willing to do a little homework for her. Today was another easy day; the beginning was a quick lecture; bring in a poem, stand like an idiot in front of the class, and dramatize it best you could. You got bonus points for doing a British accent and wearing tights.

Oddly enough, the guys were the most excited.

"We should all meet down at the diner." Jenn was saying. "I'm craving their fries, like, a lot. And then we sort through poems and stuff."

"Miss Fairchilde, can we write our own?" Kim asked, abruptly excited.

She looked up from her book with a smirk and nodded and then looked over one of the guys who suddenly seemed to take interest in this.

"Mathew, let's try and leave Chuck Norris out of it for a change, eh?"

He groaned and slouched back against the heater vent.

I laughed as Kim drug out a notebook and pen and began scribbling.

"So are you going to come with us, Brie?" Jenn asked. "Cause you totally should, it would be awesome! We've got a bunch poems to sort through; I still have mine way back from middle school. Or you could write your own!"

"Ha! No way . . ." I chuckled but nodded. "Yeah I guess I'll come."

Carlisle had been trying to get me to get out more and socialize. I didn't see why I couldn't be with Alice or Bella but I guess that was the whole "Brie isn't officially adopted yet" factor creeping in. I was still wondering how to bring that up, as a casual conversation.

"Great!" Kirby said. "You can ride with me!"

"Um, thanks!" I said.

I couldn't imagine what a study session (if that's what they would call it) with the posse would be like.

Suddenly Miss Fairchilde's chair squeaked and we all looked up. She was standing rather confusedly, staring at the class as though something greatly distressed her. I blinked slowly as the posse started to snicker behind their hands, turning their back to the teacher. I raised an eyebrow and Jenn and Kim as the rest of the class hid smiles behind their hands. Then a thought struck me and I hesitated in my text to Alice to say I was hanging out with posse after school.

I hadn't been here yesterday; after my not-so-steamy-closet-moment with Dante, I had spent the rest of the day with the Cullen's. I hadn't been to English. Everything was slowly coming together.

"I assigned this yesterday . . . on _Tuesday_ . . . Didn't I?" Miss Fairchilde asked, smiling with a shake of her head. Her eyes landed on Jenn and Kim, who were currently Kenn and Jim. "Alright girls, you got me and about half the staff. Today is Wednesday, isn't it? I gave the same lecture twice?"

Both of them smiled in unison. They did a lot of things in unison.

"Well done, class, well rehearsed, so I assume that since you went through the trouble to convince me that is, in fact, Tuesday, you will all be showing up on Saturday, since it is technically a Friday for yours truly?"

There was silence for a long time where all of us stared intently back at Miss Fairchilde and she stared at us, unblinking. I've heard stories where classes had come in on weekends . . . but I had never heard either way about whether or not it was a good experience. Sometimes it was hard to tell if she was kidding us or not.

"You're not serious, Miss F?" Mathew finally spoke up. All of us blinked in a pathetic haze. "You . . .wouldn't have us come in on a . . . Saturday?"

Finally, she sighed and smirked.

"Touchè, Mathew."

"To-what?"

She laughed and threw a mini snickers at him from the bag under her desk.

"Just show up with a poem tomorrow, okay?"

* * *

"Ugh!" Mariah growled, turning sharply. I hit the window as my bag pressed against me. "Why is there no place to park?"

"I don't know, is something going on?" Kirby asked, peering out the window.

I looked to my left and saw Jenn and Kim waving us down. We had to circle around a block for the fifth time.

"Over there, by the auto shop." I said.

Both their heads turned and Mariah turned the car into a free parking space behind Jenn's car. When we got out, they began talking about the walk over to the diner. Kim was freezing. Jenn made fun of her. Pulling my jacket closer around me, I looked around. The streets seemed really packed . . . I didn't like really packed.

"I wonder what's going on?" Kirby asked. "It's the middle of the week . . ."

"Something going on at school?" Kim suggested.

"I don't think so."

"Well let's get going, hopefully the diner's not packed. I want a milkshake."

We began walking, pushing our little pack through the wandering people, when I suddenly stopped and turned. A whiff of something tugged at my memory, like a particular scent of perfume might. I turned just as a by-passer rammed into me.

"Hey!"

"Excuse you," I grumbled.

I wormed my through the crowd. Having never actually walked the streets of Forks before, I hesitated briefly at the thought of being lost but seriously, how hard could it be? If I couldn't find them again, I could at least find the car.

I followed the scent like a dog might, on the air . . . I ended up at the attached garage that connected to the auto shop and stopped. My mind suddenly felt foggy and I had a brief instance of "Brie what the hell are you doing?" before the garage door opened and the heavy scent of gas and grease caught me full steam. A car engine started and I jumped back in surprise a red hunk of metal started rolling towards me, then came a halt and died.

"Hey! Get out of the way, shops open for customers up front!"  
A big man called out to me. For some reason I was frozen where I stood, my eyes looking for someone that I wasn't sure of. I looked up when I noticed someone was walking towards me; a big, heavy man in stained overalls and a sour look on his face. "Hey! You trying to commit suicide or something? My guys need to get this car out of the garage; now _move_ it!"

Even though I understood every word he said, it was like I was drawn towards that scent. He smelled like gas and grease but it was different, it wasn't quite the same one I had been following. But it was still there, I could smell it . . .

"Hey! You deaf or something?"

I started to respond to him when someone else beat me to the punch.

"Ah leave her alone, Teddy, she's lookin' for me."

I looked over who I presumed was Teddy's shoulder and the big mechanic turned around. A ragged, average height woman stood, leaning against the open door way with a black, grease rag slung over her shoulder. She had a narrow waist and small chest and from here I could see she had a cunning, fox like smile, but her body was well muscled. Her dark red hair was boy cut, though her bangs were longer, slicked to the side in a neat, dark tip.

I caught my breath as I spied a black symbol tattooed on the side of her neck. She was the woman in my dream. She grinned at me again and pushed herself up from the building.

"A friend of yours, Phill?" Teddy asked backing up and crossing his arms over his broad chest.

"You could say that." she said vaguely, her voice thick and rough. "I take in all sorts of . . . strays."

Her words hit me as I looked into her eyes. Right now they were a stormy gray, but I swore I saw that same iridescent glint in them. I swallowed, looking at her apprehensively.

"Well, get your chit chat over with, my guys want to take this baby out and test drive her."

"That hunk a metal can wait." the woman spat. Who named their girl "Phil" anyway? "Besides, your men seem to lack initiative unless I'm around."

"Ah . . ." Teddy seem to consider this. "Of course its a woman that has to be one of my best men . . .Only in Forks. Alright Phill, get in and get out. I need a pair of nimble hands out here."

"Of course, chief."

"Brie!" I turned to see Jennifer motioning for me to come along. "You coming or what? The diner's around the corner and – "

"I'll meet you in a second." I called back. "Save me a seat."

She gave me an odd look but shrugged and jogged back around the corner. Phil had walked up to me now and I could see from her smile that she knew who I was, which was particularly creepy in this situation.

"Took you long enough." she said. "Follow me."

Not entirely sure if I was dreaming by this point or not, I followed her into the garage shop, the heavy smell of oil and gas taking over my senses. The smell that had caught my attention was coming from her; I was sure of it. It was the same scent that I had caught in my dream. She led me into a back room where she discarded the rag into a pile and pounded on a weak, plastic door.

"Who's it?" came an irritated, but smooth voice from behind it.

"Yours truly!" she replied in mock sweetness.

Suddenly the lock rattled and the door flew open.

"Philly? Wha- Oh my . . ."

I gasped again as I suddenly saw the man from dreams; silvery hair even though he looked very young. Parts of it seemed dyed blue, not shimmering as it had been in my dream. A tattoo was on the side of his neck too and when he stood up, his ugly pin stripe was wrinkled and faded. He beamed at me and then rushed at me and enveloped me into a huge hug.

"We found you!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah. . . okay, Taro, the girl hasn't had a _thing_ explained to her yet and judging by the look on her face, I think she'd really appreciate it if you put her down."

The man swept me in one more circle before placing me back down in front of Phil. Breathing heavy, I stepped back and took them both in with fearful eyes.

"Taro, Brielle. Brielle, Taro." Phil mentioned with a quick hand gesture. "And I'm Phil."

All I could think to say was, "_Phil?_"

She turned back around to face me with a wry smile. "My name's Philadelphia, but seriously, who names their kid after a city? So call me Phill; and that's with _two_ l's."

"She thinks the extra "l" makes it feminine." Taro whispered to me. Phill shot him a glare.

"Okay," I said, officially starting get freaked out by the scenario. I had been chased by shadows and other dark things but this was the first time I've actually had my dreams come out in the daytime to talk to me. "I think . . . I think . . . I need to leave."

It was wrong following her in here. I didn't know this person . . . I must have just seen her on the street and my mind just inserted her in my dreams . . .

"No." Phill said, suddenly very stern. Her eyes locked on mine and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. "No; I lost track of you once, you are not getting away from me again. You belong with me, and with Taro. You are no longer a stray; you are home."

I stared at her for a long time. Taro had put a narrow hand on her shoulder, trying to get her to calm down. She seemed upset with my desire to leave. When I remembered to breathe again, I looked away with a shudder. Her gaze was gripping and harsh . . . it made me feel like prey. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I fingered it, but didn't pick it up.

"How do you know me?" I finally whispered.

"I'll explain. . . when you come with us." Phill made a grab for my arm but I jumped back.

"No way! What . . . I mean . . . seriously? I don't even know who you _are!_"

Phill grumbled. "I'm Phill, and he's Taro, now don't make this more difficult than it has to be, you're in terrible danger!"

"I'd say!" looking at her wildly.

Taro intervened then and stepped between us. He pushed Phill back a little and turned his eyes on me. I felt calmer, but still wanted to run away again. My phone vibrated once more.

"You can't escape us, Brielle. We will keep calling for you until you answer."

"You aren't seriously going to let her go, Taro?"

He ignored Phill, keeping his eyes on me. "It won't matter what you want to do or think you want to do, you need us. We appear in your dreams for a reason."

"What?" I muttered, feeling a nervous sweat start on my forehead.

"Taro!" Phill hissed again. My phone continued to vibrate.

"We can't force her, Phill." he said calmly. "She'll come to us, when the shadows get to thick, when she fears for her very life, or when we simply must step in. We know where she is now, we have her scent, and we know who she is with."

"Yeah, but _she_ doesn't . . ." muttered Phill. She turned her bright eyes to me. "Fine, Brielle, I get it. You're scared. I don't blame you, but you need to know more about that bloodsucking family you're living with."

"Easy, Philly, no need to scare her more . . ." Taro warned.

"Blood . . .sucking?" I stuttered

Phill just stared at me, as if I should get it. Taro stepped in front of her again, handing me a business card. He flipped it over to show me a number written on the back.

"We are harbingers, Brielle. Call this number should you ever need me or Phill." I took it with numb fingers and took a step back. "Remember; when the shadows get to thick . . . we can help you. Eventually, we can teach you."

"I don't know what you're talking about . . ." I muttered in a low voice.

"Of course you don't." spat Phill, walking over to pick up a new rag. "Don't you have a study session or something to go to?"

I gave her a funny look. I hadn't said anything about the group I was going to join.

"Go on," Taro said. "Your time will come."

I looked at them each in turn and then turned and ran, the smell of oil and gas slowly leaving me. When I got out into the crowded street, I could feel my heart hammering in my chest and I started to shake. They were so familiar, I actually felt drawn to them. Why did this scare me? Who were they?

_We are harbingers,_ Taro had said.

What did that mean? Harbingers of what?

I jumped when my pocket vibrated again and I felt like was suddenly thrust back into reality. When I pulled my phone out, the caller ID said it was Jasper. I sighed and opened the phone.

"Jasper, I'm fine . . ."

"Sorry, Brie, just checking." there was a pause. "Why do you sound scared?"

I swallowed and tried to strengthen my voice. "I'm not Jazz, promise."

"Alice said you were spending time with some friends. You'll call if you need anything?"

"Of course," I said, with a little laugh. "Cell phone's charged and everything."

"Right . . ." Jasper said with a little sigh. "Alright. I'll see you tonight then."

"Yeah, see ya Jasper."

I flipped the phone shut and took a deep, cold breath. Poetry was certainly the last thing on my mind now and I had a great desire to suddenly return to the Cullen house. But I bit my lip and ran my fingers along the smooth surface of the business card.

_The shadows_.

I closed my eyes and tried not think about what had just happened. It was too much of a coincidence. So I started ahead once more, trying not to focus on Phill and Taro. Dante's voice entered my mind again . . . I wasn't human. I felt like I was suddenly a beaming, bright light in a mass of normalcy. I didn't like it; I didn't want to be seen this way. I had long ago deduced I was freak because of my hair but now . . .

I looked down at my hands, as if expecting them to change into animal claws or sprout feathers. Now I _knew_ I was different, my mind wouldn't let me simply drop that fact anymore. Angrily I clenched my hands together and turned the corner, seeing the posse in the diner window as soon as I did. They were laughing, being their normal goofy selves.

Shaking my head, I looked to the sky and once more, I knew I was back at square one.

I didn't belong.

With a sigh, I slipped my phone back out and found Alice's number, ready to head back to the Cullen house.


	11. Chapter 11 Lost

**Author Note: **_Wow! Sorry guys for not updating in . . . forever . . . Sometimes life just gets in the way, you know? I've really had to put a lot of things on hold and it really drove me nuts not to write on this for so long, so hopefully its all alright - I had to go back and read what I had written just to refresh myself. No worries, I have no intentions of giving up on the story, so I hope you will bear with me and hopefully there will be no more delays like that one!_

_As usual, Twilight and all supporting characters are Stephenie Meyer's. And if they aren't her's, they're mine. =) Hope you enjoy it!_

**Eleven**

_**Lost**_

I guess my finger slipped.

Chase's home number came on my screen and a crackling ring sounded as I continued to hold the phone in front of my face. What the heck was I going to say? Oops, wrong number? I was about to hang up when I heard his voice over the phone, breathless.

"Yeah?" he answered.

I hesitated and gnawed on my lip a bit before replying.

"Hey . . . Chase? It's Brie."

"Oh hey! What's up?"

Something crashed in the background and I heard Chase apologize. I gave a short laugh and felt the world calm down a little bit. I moved so I was out of sight of the diner window and leaned against the brick wall of the building.

"I . . . I was just wondering if you were busy."

_Lame, lame, lame!_

"Well, I was about to make dinner. Why? Did you have something in mind?"

I smiled at the hopeful tone in his voice and cast my eyes to the ground, glad that something was distracting me.

"Um . . . Well, I was just stuck in town and well, I don't really have much homework and I was . . . well, it was just a spur of the moment thought and if you don't mind I'd like to, uh . . . I don't know, hang out or – "

"My grandmother says that I insist you come for dinner."

I stopped and laughed. "How did she know it was me on the other end?"

"He blushes something awful when he talks about you." Came an older, fragile voice.

"She snuck onto the other phone." He explained, laughing curtly.

My voice squeaked. "Well, I'll . . . I'll have to call Alice. Or one of them and let them know . . ."

"Great! I can pick you up." Chase said. "Where are you at?"

"Um . . . the diner, I guess . . ."

"You guess?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I'm at the diner."

"Alright, I'll be there in a few."

I smiled as I hung up the phone and shook my head, suddenly nervous all over again, but this time, I liked the reason. I scrolled through my contacts list one more time and this time my finger entered the right number.

With a sigh, I prepared myself for Alice's squeal of excitement.

* * *

"Your friends didn't seem too depressed to see you leave."

Chase's truck threw me against the window when we hit a pothole. I grunted and rubbed my head, glaring at the foul glass.

"Yeah," I said absently as I readjusted myself. "Alice was rather thrilled for me to skip a study session too."

I saw him smirk at me as I tried to regain my balance. His seats were lumpy and the passenger side didn't have a seat belt; personally, I think his truck didn't like me. We hit another bump and I jolted forward – without looking, he flung out his arm to catch me.

"Thanks," I said, awkwardly pushing myself back. He grinned and draped his arm behind me.

"Happens all the time," he said. "So . . . what do you think?"

He was pointing ahead of us and I braced my feet against the floor of the truck as we turned onto a gravel road. A small home sat off in the distance, stables extending out to the left. Corrals and a barbed wire fence lined the property and extending out behind it was the most gorgeous view of snowy hills and clumps of trees. Living in the forest with Cullen's was breathtaking to, but this just felt so much more . . . open.

"Wow . . . you live here?"

"It's not much," he said, pulling up to the house with a lurch. "But its home!"

He grinned broadly and jumped out of the truck. I did more of a somersault and glared at the rusty, blue clunker with disdain. I kicked the door closed with my foot and dusted my pants off. Looking up, I saw him grinning the famous crooked grin of his and felt my worries slip to the back of my mind. I took his hand as he helped me up.

"Okay so something you should know about my grandmother . . ."

"Oh God," I suddenly said. "Shouldn't we have gone through family secrets _before_ we arrived?"

He gave me a playful glare. "Chill, Brie. She's a nice lady. It's just . . . she's blind . . ."

"Oh?"

"Well, mostly. She was born with bad eyes, or so she says. But she still manages to get around easily enough . . . What I'm trying to say is don't let her fool you. And don't try lying because trust me, she _will_ know."

I gave a nervous laugh. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Inside, the house was oddly well kept up for housing an old, blind woman and a teenage boy. But Chase seemed like someone who took responsibility seriously, that or he feared the wrath of his Grandmother's tongue. I sniffed the air, already expecting that "old lady" smell but instead I was met by the pleasant scent of some strange incense, something with cheese and the vague hint of cat box.

"Home, Grams!" Chase called out.

The stairs to the right of me creaked. Slowly emerging, I caught my first sight of Grandma Sage.

She was bent woman but as stable as ever, slowly making her way down the narrow stairway. Her hair was a soft gray and hung loosely over her delicate shoulders. She was small and as she shuffled towards me, I caught the vacant, milky look in her eyes. I smiled timidly and to my surprise, she smiled right back, her pale lips crinkling. She held out her hands towards me and out of reflex, I drew back. I felt Chase's hand on my shoulder and sighed, biting my lip again. The old woman's face softened slightly and I felt guilty when she frowned. Her gnarled hands fell back to her sides.

"You're a timid one, aren't you, child?"

"I'm sorry . . . I . . ."

She shushed me and put a finger to my lips. "None of that now. Chase, the lasagna is still waiting for you, why don't tend to it? Come, dear, come sit on the couch. Just kick the cat out of the way there . . . hope you aren't allergic . . ."

I didn't really have much of a choice, as the old woman snatched onto my wrist and dragged me to the couch, leaving Chase smiling a little awkwardly as he backed into the kitchen. So I sat, letting Chase leave me alone, trying to calm myself in face of a new set of (blind) eyes.

"So, you're living with the Cullen's, are you? Tell you the truth; I never used to like that family . . . But times change I guess. Do they treat you well? Feed you right? Give you a place to sleep?"

I gave her an odd look, but it was lost to her milky gaze. "Yeah. So far, they've been great."

It's true. I can't help but feel some sort of attachment to them. They've put up with my strange antics and acted as though I'm another new member of the family. There was none of that awkward transition period where you feel more like a burden then a potential new family member. She nods approvingly.

"Good. Very good. And where do you come from dear?"

I turn my eyes to the ground. I hate that question, more than anyone knows. Why is it constantly asked? What is the fascination about my origins? I'm clutching the sides of the couch when a buzzer goes off in the kitchen and Chase walks in and saves me from another life story revealing session.

"Dinner's ready!"

* * *

I ate in silence as Chase and his grandmother talked. And every time Chase laughed or smiled, I felt a little bit better. His laugh was infectious and was well imprinted on my brain and I couldn't help but feel slightly giddy when he did so. The Sage home was warm and playful, different from the Cullen home in warmer way. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it was there.

So afterwards, Chase ushered me outside again, toward the stable. The evening had gotten colder, so much colder that as soon as I started shivering, Chase draped his coat around me. I was surprised to find that it was warm – like, fresh-out-of-the-dryer warm. And he was in a t-shirt. But he wouldn't take the coat back, and I was to cold to care.

"Guess I'm kind of a wimp . . ." I muttered as we stepped into the stable. When the familiar smell of horses met my nose, I smiled.

"I'd say," he laughed, shutting the door behind him. "For anyone that was born and bred here, this is shorts and flip-flop weather."

"Right . . ." I looked over as something nudged my shoulder and smiled at the sight of a white and gray paint.

"That's Letty." Chase said, reaching to scratch the mare behind her ear. "She's the matriarch here, oldest horse we have. And she's all mine."

I clicked my tongue, and Letty's ear flicked forward, soft hazel eyes regarding me curiously. She reached her nose out to sniff my hair and I couldn't help but laugh a little when she took some of my hair with her lips. I stroked her neck after she let go and she placed her nose into my palm, giving a soft, warm sigh.

"Looks like she approves." Chase said.

I turned when a nicker caught my attention I saw three more curious sets of brown eyes looking at me. Chase motioned me forward.

"And our three trouble makers; Blackjack's the solid black with the stripe on his nose. Ace is actually Letty's colt – he's the white one. And the black one with the star on his head is Domino. Dom's the gentlest of the three, but he's a bit nippy if he doesn't feel like he's getting enough attention."

"They're beautiful." I said, walking up to the closest one, which was Blackjack, and letting him sniff my hand. I cast a quick glance over my shoulder at Chase. "So, when do I get my first riding lesson?"

He smirked and walked up behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders. "When the wimp isn't afraid of a little cold weather."

I rolled my eyes and leaned back into him. I couldn't help it – he was so . . . warm. I guess he liked it too though, because his chin was soon resting on the top of my head and his arms wrapped around my waist. I smiled and closed my eyes.

I liked the safe, warm feeling I was starting to get around him. I wasn't scared-nervous anymore, it was more of a happy-nervous. Of course, I wasn't going to say anything . . . at least, not first. Something felt right about this; like when he was around, all my troubles were forgotten. My weird past, Dante, the dark shadows, Phill and Taro . . .

I sighed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, pulling away slightly and giving me an all knowing look. I searched his eyes for a moment and then looked away, gnawing on my lip again. "Did you hear anymore about . . . your family?"

"No. It's nothing."

"Yeah. Right. Can't lie to me, Brie. Something's up." He placed two fingers under my chin, making me look at him. "Why did you _really_ call me?"

The way he said it sent chills down my spine and without thinking I pressed into him and clutched him to me. I relaxed, feeling his arms wrap strongly over my back and breathed in deeply. I didn't say anything for a while, knowing he wouldn't pressure me into anything. That's what it felt like with everyone else around . . . Will you be part of the family? Are you going to stay? Are you going to go with us? What are you?

"I'm just so . . . confused." I finally whispered, resting my head against his shoulder. "There's this guy at school that just really . . . just . . . I don't get and he kind of freaks me out. And then today, there were these people that . . ."

I stopped and rammed my head into his shoulder. What was I going to say? There were these people that randomly popped out of my dream?

"Yeah . . . Sorry, I'm not good with . . . guy problems but I'll take him on if he's causing you problems!" I looked up and smirked, shaking my head.

"It's just . . . some of things he says." I paused; reflecting on Dante's random comments and random acts of what he thought was protecting me. "And then . . . someone _else_ said something about the Cullens, like they know about them. Is there something I don't know about them, Chase? Is there something . . . _wrong_ with them?"

Chase pulled back slightly and turned his head, eyes glinting in the dim light. "There's nothing . . . _wrong_. It's just . . . they're different. I guess. What exactly did you hear?"

I looked over at the wall, clenching my fists together.

"It was stupid." I muttered. "I didn't know who these people were . . ."

_But they knew me._

"Okay." He looked at me suspiciously and then crossed his arms over his chest. "And this guy at school. What's he been saying?"

I glanced up again but continued to fidget. "You heard about my bleach-in-the-closet incident?"

"Yep."

I grimaced. Of course he had. "Well, same guy that shoved me into the closet seems to think . . . I'm . . . different."

Actually Dante's exact words were "You aren't human" but I figured that that was a little over the top weirdness level, even for Chase who seemed to understand a lot of crazy things.

I smiled when he laughed, feeling calmer.

"Well, he's right. You are different . . . but in a good, clumsy, stubborn kind of way." He stepped forward. "Don't let anyone change your mind about the Cullen's, Brie, they're good people, and you've seen that yourself. And if that creepy-stalker-closet guy tries any more funny business . . .I'll get him for you."

I gave a half laugh, not bothering to mention that despite getting me into trouble, Dante had also saved my hide a couple times. Ah well, being this close to Chase made everything better anyway.

"What are you?" I whispered, wrapping my arms around my frozen sides. "My watch dog?"

He grinned and winked. "Something like that."

I watched him come closer, silently studying my face. I wasn't afraid to make eye contact with Chase, wasn't afraid when his fingers touched my cheek. He was warm, he was everything I needed right now. An escape from this crazy mess I had been thrown into, and I hadn't even known him that long. It was strange, but I liked it. I felt my cheeks go warm as his arm slipped around my waist, pulling me closer.

"I knew you brought the wimp out into the cold for a reason . . ." I whispered.

He chuckled and shook his head me, resting his forehead against mine. I swallowed, suddenly hearing my heart roaring in my chest and my eyes closed when his did. All I could do was try and keep my head, feeling his warm breath against my face and without knowing when I did it, I discovered my hands, though slightly trembling, were resting on his shoulders.

I definitely wasn't thinking of anything else now.

Pressing closer, I felt his head turn slightly and meekly stood still, not sure what I was doing or what I _should_ be doing. And then something instinctive pushed through into my head, louder than the rushing heartbeat or various, random, jumbled thoughts that said he was asking for permission. With a small breath, I tilted my chin up and . . .

"Chase! Emergency! Jake needs . . . you . . .now . . ."

We leapt apart as if a bolt of lightening had just landed between us and I fell back against an empty grain bucket. Chase whipped around as I struggled to regain balance and . . . well, my senses. Seth was staring at us both a little wildly in the open doorway, and then abruptly looked off to the side.

"I totally just interrupted something, didn't I?" he muttered.

"What's Jake need?" Chase said evenly even though I'm sure I wouldn't be able to speak.

"It's . . ." Seth looked at me for a moment and then at Chase. "Complicated?"

Chase nodded. "Alright . . . alright, I just . . . do I have time to get Brie home?"

"Make it quick." Said a voice behind Seth, making him jump out of the way. "It's important that you come."

"Got it, Embry. I'll be quick."

Chase turned and grabbed my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze and mouthing the word, "sorry" and pulling me with him and past the two Quileute boys. Embry gave me a raised eyebrow and knowing grin as Seth smiled pleasantly at me. I blushed deeper and was soon leading Chase back to his own truck.

"I'll grab your bag." He said distractedly, sprinting into the house and out again. He thrust the book bag at me from the drivers door, his eyes bright with worry.

"What's up?" I said, half way down the road.

He shook his head. "I don't know, but if Jake's ordering us all together . . ."

"What? Are you guys like your own little tribe or something?" I smirked.

But he didn't even crack a smile. I cast my eyes to the ground and gave up talking, figuring something must be really wrong.

We didn't speak a word as he drove me back to the Cullen's and when we got there, we sat in silence for a moment or two before he unlocked my door.

"I'll take you horseback riding someday . . . promise." He said, attempting a light smile.

"Thanks." I replied. "For everything. You're a great cook . . . and a . . . really good listener."

"So . . . guess I'll be seeing you?"

"Yeah. You will." On impulse I leaned over and hugged him. "Hope everything's okay."

"It will be." He smiled reassuringly, touching my cheek again. "Good night."

"Night." I muttered back, slowly getting out.

After I got out, I stood in the drive way and watched him drive off, not even bothering to zip up my coat, not even caring about the wind . . . I sighed, so lost in my own little world, that every thought spun with every other thought, making it impossible to think.

I was so lost, I didn't even see the person who had crept up next to me.


End file.
